Card Captor Sakura Fan Fiction ❯ Verisimilitude ❯ 2. The Importance of Being Earnest ( Chapter 2 )

VERISIMILITUDE

Chapter 2: The Importance of Being Earnest

By: Elle Chant

Disclaimer: CCS is not mine

 

 

***

 

Being seventeen was interesting, high school in particular.

 

Eriol had seen many things. The story of human time was played before him like a film, each era passing by with each new change it brings. From the times when people still believed in miracles and pure evil to the formulation of Dalton's Atomic theory. He had watched from the sides, waiting patiently for his own task in the world. Not interfering, never became part of anything.

 

He could part water, shift seasons from autumn to spring. He knew death and tears; He heard whispers of the earth's voices in the wind. The universe swirled around him like an open book, something he constantly read. A fated encounter one young boy two souls that made him see and know everything.

 

Though he didn't think that explaining Confucius teachings about the spiritual significance of why leaves die in fall could hardly pacify ragingly hormonal boys or vanity obsessed girls. Here, in a place called high school where he watched and was a part of.

 

“I think you should stick with chocolate Li-kun” He commented.

 

“Is that how the English say, your cake sucks?” Syaoran said scowling at him.

 

Li Syaoran's “peach cream pie” that he was planning to sell in the soccer team's booth sat on his table due to Sakura's vehemence to ask for Tomoyo-chan and Eriol-kun's opinion first. Eriol had thought that this must her way of saying “your cake sucks” to her boy friend without actually offending him.

 

Well, it did look pretty bad and Yamazaki had commented it looked like staled calzone with soap foam.

 

“Why did you make peach cream pie Li-kun?” Tomoyo asked. “I though you love chocolate.”

 

Ah, Miss Tomoyo's way of saying “your cake sucks”. Japanese are so polite.

 

“He wanted to try something different” Sakura sighed. “Ne, Syaoran-kun?”

 

“I had lots of things to do!” He said. “I wasn't really paying attention to the oven.”

 

“Your bad” Eriol commented.

 

He could just feel the gamma rays of Li-kun's glare.

 

“Well, you could always try again.” Sakura said. “The cakes aren't due till tomorrow.”

 

“Too many things to do,” Syaoran replied. “It'll most likely turn out like this one.”

 

“You could just buy a cake.” Eriol suggested mildly. “At least if there are no requirements to make your own.”

 

He could feel the small oscillating waves subtle mischief brought as he looked at his cute relative's face.

 

“There's a new café downtown!” Sakura said. “It's called Café Mocha Princess. Akizuki-san has been pressuring Onnichan to take her there for the last couple of days! She always said the Tiramisu is just divine!”

Eriol glanced at Tomoyo and he could her getting startled at the coffee house's name before it faded into amusement.

 

“Yeah,” Syaoran said. “If Akizuki likes it there, the sweets must be good.”

“Okay then, Syaoran-kun let's pass by there after school. I also wanted to try their strawberry whipped shakes.” She glanced at Tomoyo and Eriol. “Do you want to come? We can make it sort of an after school date.”

 

Eriol suddenly remembered the days after Li Syaoran came from Hong Kong. Tomoyo's silence and her blank state, the loneliness in her eyes that escalated even more. She had tried to hide behind school work and choir practice with constant meetings with the student council but Eriol could see just like he always had seen and knew everything.

He saw her freeze slightly. She probably remembered them too.

 

“Ano, Sakura-chan…” She began.

 

“Please, Tomoyo-chan?” Sakura pleaded. “I haven't gone out with you for the longest time and I feel like I barely see you.”

 

“But I'm right here, I haven't gone anywhere.” She said softly.

 

“Just say yes, please?”

 

“And I still have to finish the proposals Terada-sensei gave me yesterday.”

 

But we finished them. Eriol thought and he looked at Tomoyo while trying not to be noticeable he was doing so. We finished them. I finished them over cups of latte and croissant.

 

She looked back at him and he knew what it meant. She didn't have to say it because she knew he'd understand. He did.

 

“Please Tomoyo-chan, for me? I promise I'll buy you tiramisu and iced tea.”

 

She was losing her resolve. She sighed and smiled at her best friend. “No need for that, I'll come.”

 

“Yes!” Sakura hugged her and looked at Eriol from the crook of Tomoyo's neck. “You'll come too, right Eriol-kun?”

 

He could hear Syaoran's strangled protests.

 

“Of course,” He smiled at her. “I have to help Daidouji-san with those proposals. They are quite a lot.”

Syaoran shook his head.

 

“All right, right after school, okay?” She released Tomoyo and glanced at her watch. “Hoe! I have to be meeting the cheerleading squad now!” She dashed across the classroom and waved. “After school! Don't forget!”

 

And then she was gone.

 

Syaoran grumbled and took out his calculus text book and started solving problems while Tomoyo took her seat in the desk in front of him and took out her sheet folder and a pen.

 

Eriol wondered if he was the only one who saw the broken smile on Tomoyo's face.

 

 

***

 

Tomoyo walked along beside Eriol behind Sakura and Syaoran on the way to the coffee house. In some other time, some other place she could have looked forward to the trip after spending the grueling day of fixing schedules, visiting class to class checking if everything was all right, smoothing out troubles, providing festival necessities. But she knew, not today.

 

Eriol had been waiting for her outside the Choir club classroom leaning against the wall near the window, a waft of cool afternoon sunlight passing over his smiling features.

 

“Daidouji-san, shall we go? Li-kun is just downstairs, freshening up after soccer practice. Sakura-san is waiting for us as well.”

 

It's fine. I'll go with you. You need not to look so tortured. The undercurrent of his words said.

 

“Yes, have you been waiting long? I'm sorry. There were just a few songs that needed to be handed out in Choir club and it delayed me a little.”

 

Thank you for being so considerate, Hiiragizawa-kun. Her reply told him. I promise, I'm going to be fine. I'm not made out of glass.

 

He shook his head. “Not at all and it's fine.”

 

Café Mocha Princess was a place with glass windows and brick walls. Despite its name, the ambiance seemed cozily decorate with a couple of big arm cushions and neatly polished mahogany tables. The walls were painted with elegant graffiti as she recognized an imitation of a Remembrandt that was painted on a background collage of a coffees, café's and Upper East Side street life.

 

“Wow” Sakura breathed as they went inside. Her eyes found the counter with an assortment of cakes and sweets and she gave a little hop before moving forward and taking a closer look.

 

“I'll get our orders.” Eriol said. “Daidouji-san, what would you prefer?”

 

“Tomoyo-chan!” Sakura said. “Do you want a chocolate frappuccino or a strawberry one?”

 

“Mocha will be fine” She said.

 

“Would you prefer that with whipped cream with milk and white chocolate shavings?” Eriol asked.

His eyes twinkled.

 

“Under your recommendation Hiiragizawa-kun” She said placidly.

 

“Li-kun?' Eriol said.

 

“Hot chocolate,”

 

Eriol nodded before lining up the counter beside Sakura.

 

“Here, let's get a table.” Syaoran said and Tomoyo followed him to a corner booth near the window with big cushy armchairs. They sat down faced each other.

 

“You really like chocolate, don't you Li-kun?” She said as by a way of starting conversation while opening her folder on the table. A couple of duplicated unsigned documents about the festival lay there.

 

“Uh-huh,” He said. “And I think I'm taking your advice and I'm making chocolate cake. It feels like cheating if I didn't make my own and peach cream and I don't seem to be on par with each other.”

 

“You said that not me” She said. “I for one thought it was fabulous.”

 

He smiled and Tomoyo could see hints of nervousness behind it. She got her pen and pulled the papers towards her making a show of indecision before signing each page.

 

“Daidouji?”

“Hmm?” She said.

 

“How are you?” He said and she looked up. “No, um what I meant was that well, Sakura was right. I don't see much of you anymore being busy and all and well, considering that…I have been back from Hong Kong and I didn't talk to you that much, I wanted to take this chance to know if you're, well… doing okay.”

 

She gave him a smile. “I'm fine Li-kun, I'm doing well.”

 

“Ah, well school does take up most of everyone's time” He said. “And I thought the proposals were finished already and here you are signing some more.”

 

Tomoyo froze.

 

“Oh?” She said somewhat coherently.

 

“The soccer captain said all the proposals were approved already so we have nothing to delay us.” He explained. “He talked to Hiiragizawa this morning to make sure but I guess that some were submitted late.”

 

“Yes, that's right.” She mumbled and glanced at the paper in her hand.

 

We wish for you to approve of the soccer team's booth that consists of….

 

She shut her folder immediately.

 

“That could wait until tomorrow” She said.

 

He smiled at her. The nervousness still lingered there.

 

She looked at him. Tall, handsome and grown up but the same amber eyes of the eleven year old who swooped down and took Sakura away from her remained. The same boy who understood loving Sakura. The joys of it and the pain with all the moments in between.

 

Her eyes softened. “Was it worth it? Coming back for Sakura-chan, Li-kun?”

 

He looked at her, startled.

 

“Yes,” He said. “Very much.”

 

“It made you both very happy.”

 

She smiled at him. “So I'm glad.”

 

Syaoran looked at her before he gave her a tentative smile back. Of course he knew, of course he understood. He loved Sakura-chan too.

 

As Eriol came and placed her mocha frappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate shavings in front of her, she took a long slow sip and felt for that moment a small heavy feeling lift off her and she welcomed the warmth and delight of childlike happiness chocolate brought.