Sakura gathered everything, now annoyed that it was SO MUCH stuff, and stood up. 

“Well, this has been weird. But uh, thanks for all the apology gifts?”

Tamaki stood with her, “Y-Yes! Again, I am very sorry I was so off-putting. I..um…can I just blame it on being a writer?”

Sakura shrugged, readjusting her satchel and the bags of stuff, “I mean I guess that makes some sense. But hey, at least you have a cute dog. I’m sure that’ll help you in whatever it is you’re into.”

Tamaki looked a bit confused but still managed a smile, waving to Sakura as she made her way to the library. 

Studying was not as productive as Sakura would have liked. She rewrote her notes on the brand-new flashcards, which of course was a good refresher, and she quizzed herself. But her brain was elsewhere. Mostly focusing on how freaking bizarre the morning had been. Had any of it actually happened or was she stuck in some sleep-deprived haze? She had been staying up late to keep up with her projects and tests….but no. She was sure she’d slept decently well the previous night. 

But that Tamaki guy…if she told anyone about him, they’d never believe someone so eccentric and weird actually existed! 

Not to mention, the whole interaction between them had just been so…cliché.

“Ugh. That was like straight out of some dumb cheesy movie. Or even like a shoujo anime! I mean what the hell? His dog knocks all my stuff over, then tangles us up together in the leash? I’m not out here looking for a meet-cute!”  

She gave an annoyed groaned, earning a look from other students in the library, and then shoved all her study materials into her bag. She was just going to have to hope she was prepared enough for this test because studying was so not happening. 

Thankfully, the midterm was not as horrible as she had feared. In fact, she was confident she’d aced it.

“Sakura, you always say that shit. You freak out, thinking you’re not going to do well, and then you always ace it. Like, could you be more stereotypically Asian?”

Sakura glanced over at her best friend, Aya, who was talking while browsing her phone. 

“Hey, I was legit nervous for this test, ok? I’m in grad school now so everything is important!”

“You’re in your third term of grad school, you’ve got this shit down and you know it.” 

“Mmm,” Sakura didn’t want to admit that she was right. 

Plus, if she got too cocky, she could screw up and ruin all her chances or worse—flunk out! And then everything Saku had done and given up for her would be for nothing. Shit like that made her anxiety skyrocket so, there was no getting lax or cocky. She tackled every task with complete focus. Aya, on the other hand, was a fifth-year? Sixth year? Senior and had finally found her calling in the fashion department. Which was great, because she was an amazing designer and Sakura had told her to go down that path for forever but lucky for Aya, she could afford to take her time and go between majors. 

Having family money must be amazing.