Sakura-sensei

The beautiful form of Sakura-sensei came jogging my direction. Out of habit, I stood and greeted her. "Good morning, sensei!" She paused and gave me an odd look. GAH! Of course she did, she didn't know me!

"'Sensei', is it? Do I know you?"

"er...n-no."

"Then you called me sensei....why?"

"Because..o-of the glasses! They make you look very distinguished and...and, uh...t-teacher-y." For a few tense moments, I didn't know what she would do. My best hope seemed to be her shrugging and continuing on.

She laughed. That pretty laugh that made me forget I wasn't me.

"For a guy your age, you talk to girls like a teenager!" She gave me another look, this one examining. Was she checking me out!? "You remind me of someone. Who is it...? Someone I see a lot."

"Boyfriend?" I asked, trying and failing to sound casual.

"No, not that. Ah! A student!" She lit up when she remembered me. I only wish I was the more direct cause of it. "Yume Uetto." I **** out a chuckle at my own name.

"S-sounds like a dork..."

She frowned. "Don't talk about my student like that! Its people like you who are ruining him!"

"Ruining?" I didn't know I was 'ruined'.

"Yes! Laughing and teasing him for his name! He didn't choose it, and his parents tell me hes been getting tormented for it since early childhood! How dare you? Are you no more mature than a primary school child!?" The verbal onslaught was so intense I backed up despite being the one she was defending.

"I'm sorry. It was just kind of a reflex."

"Is that supposed to be better?"

"No, its just...When I was in jr. high, I transferred from..somewhere else, so I could use any name I wanted, so I chose a new one. When someone would laugh at a kid with a weird name, I had to act like I thought it was funny too so they wouldn't discover my real name."

"Which was?"

"Sakana Bouji*." Again, the tense look.

"Are you serious?"

"Unfortunately, I am. I won't pretend it was a good thing to do, but second chances only come once, and I had to take it." I can't believe this is all coming out so easily. The story, the name, everything is flowing out like the national anthem, like I knew it by heart.

*-Sakana Bouji='Fish sex'