Future Love

Chapter 1: New Teacher

It was the beginning of my sophomore year of high school. I’m the only one in my friend circle who is still single. All my friends are already engaged in relationships. By the way, my name is Haruto, your average high school student with average grades. My friends are Ricky and Shaun whom I met last year in the class. There is this girl, Erika, whom I liked since middle school but she is far beyond my reach. She is top in both academics and athletics. She was confessed by over 30 students last year but rejected all of them. Luckily, this year Erika is in my class and I will try to close the gap between us.

“Good Morning Students, I’m your new homeroom teacher Ms. Violet and joined your school this year”, said our homeroom teacher.

It was surprising that a new teacher became a homeroom teacher. Normally, a teacher would require at least 2-3 years of experience. In the new seating arrangement, I got the chance to sit beside Erika, this is a good opportunity for me to become close to her. I have to thank Ms. Violet for this arrangement. On a side note, Ms. Violet is a real beauty and many boys from our class already have a crush on her.

*******

God, I can’t believe I get the chance to sit beside Haruto. I have had a crush on him since the 1st year of middle school but I didn’t have the chance to tell him because I’m too scared if he rejects me even though I will not lose anything but I couldn't get the courage to do so. I appreciate the people who have the courage to confess their love. But this year will be different, I’ll work hard to get his attention.

*******

Haruto was too happy with his seating arrangement. It was clear on his face. This is my first year as a teacher and I got lucky that the principal accepted my request to become the homeroom teacher of class 2-C. I’m living alone in the apartment near the school. I finished my graduation last year and I’m still single. It’s not like that I want to get engaged in a relationship quickly but there is something that I need to do before finding myself a good partner other than him. For this sole purpose, I became the homeroom teacher.

Chapter 2: Monthly Assignment

One month has passed since the beginning of the new semester and I still haven't made any progress with Erika. I only made contact with Erika once in the last month. She shared her math book with me once when I forgot to bring it. Oh man!, I’ll never get a girlfriend like this. Here, I thought that I will change myself this year. Now, my only chance is the monthly assignment. In our school, we get two monthly assignments in which we have to do some surveys. The assignment is usually done in a group of 2-3 students. I’ll ask Erika to form a group with me but I’m not sure if this will work.

“For this month's assignment, you all will not form the group yourselves. I have already made the groups. You all have to make a survey report on the restaurants in the city. I’ll suggest interviewing at least 10 restaurants. Also, you have 14 days to complete the assignment.”

All the students raise their voices against the group formation but Ms. Violet didn’t listen to them and it was decided I’ll be in a group of 2 and my partner is Sakura. By the way, Sakura is an honor student and she is a good rival of Erika in terms of academics, other than she is kind of gloomy and she is not athletic as well. I never imagined in my dreams that Sakura will be my groupmate. She is definitely not my type. But I have to work together with her otherwise my grades will suffer heavily. After the school, I talked with Sakura and we decided to visit Ms. Violet for advice.

“I understand that your problems regarding this, you can interview at your nearby restaurants. I don’t exactly need 10 interviews, even 1 is enough. I guess I didn’t understand the technology limitation of this era. Sorry! never mind that”, said Ms. Violet.

The next day I’m in front of the station and waiting for Sakura. It was decided we will meet here at 10 AM for the survey.

“Hi, I hope I didn't make you wait too long”, said Sakura.

“No it’s alright, I just got here.” The Truth was I reached half an hour early but didn’t say that.

We walked together and reached our first destination. It was an average family restaurant. We tried the food and it was delicious. Afterward, we interviewed the receptionist of the restaurant. I was surprised by Sakura's skill, her voice is melodic and her interviewing skills were perfect. The interview part was mostly conducted by Sakura and I’m thinking why I was here in the first place. We visited one more restaurant and concluded for the day.

“Will you come to my house or I should go to your house?”, said Sakura.

I was surprised by these sudden words. I have never gone to a girl's house or invited any girl to my house. Sakura later explained that we needed to write summaries for today’s interviews.

“I will go to your house”, I said.

We reached Sakura’s house and I was sitting in her room. Sakura made tea and the tea was delicious. We started writing and it took around an hour to complete the report. I was impressed by Sakura’s behavior and I didn’t expect her to be this good at interviewing skills. On a side note, the usual gloomy girl was looking too beautiful in her casual clothes and makeup. Why she didn’t go to school this way, it may help her in making new friends since she was mostly alone in school.

Chapter 3: A Sudden Confession

The next day, all students were discussing their assignment progress and their complaints that the group mates are not compatible. I guess I was lucky to get Sakura in my group but I was expecting to be with Erika. I moved towards my desk and I found a letter in my desk. I was shocked at this sudden development. I put the letter in my back pocket. At lunch, I read the letter in secret. The contents were:

Dear Haruto,

I loved you for a long time but didn’t get the courage. Could you wait for me in the class after school?

The first time in my life I received a love letter. I thought it was some kind of prank. Who writes the letter in this era but I still decided that I will wait in the classroom after the school.

It was 3 PM, the school had ended and I was waiting in the classroom alone. My friends were asking me to go to a café but I declined them by saying that I have some urgent work.

“Haruto, thank you for waiting”

I turned backward and was surprised to see Erika, my crush whom I admired. It was such a shock to me that I almost fainted. How Erika is here. Is she in love with me? I couldn't believe it and pinched myself to check if I’m not dreaming.

“I love you! Haruto, will you go out with me?”, said Erika.

I am more than happy to go out with her but I still have no idea why she would love me. So I asked her. 

“Well, in the second year of middle school, I saw you saving the puppy from the car accident. You changed my way of living. Before that, I always used to think about how this action would benefit me. I always think about myself before anything. But then I saw you saving that puppy even though that act will not benefit you. This changed my way of thinking and after that, I just got curious about you and eventually, I fell in love with you.”

After hearing the confession, my mind went blackout. I thought about why I saved the puppy back then. It was simple, I just happened to be there and how is it possible to leave the puppy dying. 

“I think most humans will do the same thing as me. Anyways, I’ll be happy to go out with you”, I said.

After that, we became an official couple. It has been two days since that but I still didn’t reveal it to my friends. While I was sitting on the bench, someone tapped on my shoulder.

“We still need to interview 3-4 more restaurants. Are you free today”, said Sakura.

I forgot to tell you that Sakura also sits beside me. We usually talk in between the classes for the assignment related work.

Later that day, we finished the interviews and Sakura was in my house to finalize the report. I usually go to her house but she had guests in their house so we changed the meeting place today. We were doing our work but then I heard the bell of the house. It was Erika who came to my house for the first time to play. I forget that we promised today to meet up at my house. I explained the situation to her and apologized. 

“Hey! Sakura, how’s the work going. Sorry if I’m interrupting your work”, said Erika.

We firstly finished our assignment while Erika was just playing in my room. Afterward, we three played UNO together and had fun.

“Erika, I haven’t seen you interacting with Haruto before and suddenly you came to play. Sorry, if I’m crossing my boundaries”, said Sakura.

“Actually, we are going out. We didn’t tell anyone since it just happened recently”, I explained.

Sakura was shocked but then she was saying something to herself but I couldn't hear. We continued to play till night and then Sakura and Erika said goodbye and left the house.

Chapter 4: School Trip and the Confession

Tomorrow, we have our school trip. It’s been a month since Erika and I started going out. We had several dates and I had fun. Tomorrow will be our first trip together and I’m very excited.

“So, I divided the class into 10 groups and all group members will have to be together. Each group will have a teacher assigned as the guide. You all have to listen to your teachers.”, said Ms. Violet.

In my group, there are 8 members and I don’t know any of them except Sakura. I’m thankful at least I have one person to whom I can communicate but I wished I would be with Erika.

“You look sad, come to my room at night secretly”, said Erika.

Our group decided to visit temples for the first day and an amusement park for the second while it was opposite for Erika’s group. Fate really hates me I guess. We enjoyed the sighting with the teacher. Sakura seemed very happy today. Maybe she liked temples. We ate lunch at a fancy restaurant. The food was delicious and Ms. Violet also seemed to like it. We still had to visit one more temple. Suddenly, I felt like vomiting and rushed to the washroom. I upset my stomach due to excessive eating and I felt I can’t continue like this.

“Haruto, You go back to the hotel, the doctor will check up on you there”, said Ms. Violet.

“Teach, I will go with Haruto to take care of him”, said Sakura.

I reached the hotel by cab along with Sakura. I apologized to Sakura for the trouble. The doctor gave me some medicine and advised me to rest for today. He also told me I will be fine by evening. Sakura was with me the whole time, even though it’s not a big problem. I asked Sakura why she was here instead of enjoying the trip.

“Because I love you, I know you are dating Erika but I couldn’t hold myself anymore. I fell in love with you in the first year of middle school. It was basically, love at first sight. I got curious and started to follow you not like a stalker ok. After watching you over these 4 years, I deeply fell in love with you. I was so happy we got paired together for the assignment and I’m thankful to Ms. Violet, I was able to be friends with you. After you told me that you started going out with Erika, I was depressed but after enjoying the trip with you again, I was so happy. I don’t need your answer, I just wanted to say this. You two look great together”, said Sakura with tears in her eyes.

This explained why she was so happy today. I couldn't say anything to her confession and the day ended. I didn’t visit Erika at night. The next day, we enjoyed the trip but her confession was still on my mind. With this, our class trip ended.

Chapter 5: The Truth

It’s been a few days since Sakura’s confession, I still haven't replied to her confession. I know she said that she didn’t need to hear the answer but still I need to give her a reply. I had to reject her but I couldn't do so. Whenever I’m thinking of replying to her confession, her crying face pops into my mind, and then I couldn't get the courage. I still love Erika, she is my first love. I was so happy when she confessed. We went on the date yesterday, but still Sakura’s confession was in the back of my mind and I couldn't enjoy the date fully. I’m thinking this alone in my classroom after school. I need to decide today and give a reply to Sakura’s confession.

“Hey! What are you doing alone in the classroom? School is over you know”, said Ms. Violet.

This reminds me that Ms. Violet was the cause of my problems. She arranged both the group for assignment and trip. I know that she randomly decided the groups but still I asked.

“Why are you suddenly asking me that?”, said Ms. Violet.

I didn’t know why I explained the situation to teach but my gut feeling said that I will make a mistake if I don’t say that here.

“Sorry, I made you suffer this much. What am I going to say, it may be possible that you don’t believe it, but I still want you to listen.”

I don't know why my chest felt a sudden pain but still I asked Ms. Violet to explain.

“I love you! Haruto. I know this is sudden but this is true. I didn’t randomly make the group, I specifically made sure that you and Sakura are together, other groups were random. I didn’t know that you were in love with Erika and made life difficult for you”

I was just surprised and it didn’t seem that Ms. Violet was lying. I further listened to her story about why she did that.

“My real name is Sakura and I came from the future. I loved you for a long time but I didn’t get the courage to confess and I regret this so much. I know I will never get the courage so I came here to create opportunities for Sakura so that she can be together with you and get the chance to confess. I came for this specific reason and I pulled some strings to become the homeroom teacher of your class. I know I will not get my love, this will be a parallel world to the original world from where I came. But I still wanted at least a future where I can be together with you. Sorry, I just selfishly decided things for you”

I am stunned at this sudden revelation but this is what I needed to make my decision.

“Please don’t be sorry, I’m thankful to you. I enjoyed working with Sakura and your teaching was excellent and I’m really grateful that you fell in love with this loser. I curse myself from your world who couldn't give you the happy ending that you deserved. I am really thankful towards you and please never feel sorry”, I said to Ms. Violet crying.

I’m embarrassed with myself. How did I say this much? After this, Ms. Violet treated me to a good restaurant and I again thanked Ms. Violet.

Epilogue:

After eating lunch with Ms. Violet, I ran towards Sakura’s house. Sakura was surprised to see me.

“I love you too Sakura, I will be happy if you will go out with me”, I said to Sakura.

We became a couple after that. I apologized to Erika and broke up with her. Erika never did anything wrong but it just happened that I fell in love with Sakura too. After seeing Ms. Violet like that, I can’t let Sakura suffer like that again. I didn't say anything about Ms. Violet to anyone and Ms. Violet left the school after that semester.

-- Kin Ozawa