Usagi's Sweet Dream

“36?!” Usagi Tsukino could barely hold it in, and she looked as if she was going to start crying. Again. Her teacher, Haruna Sakurada, had just handed back a vocabulary quiz covered in red marks.

“But I spent the entire night studying with Ami and everyone else!” Usagi whimpered. “I knew this was going to happeeeeeeeen!”

“36? That’s at least three points higher than your last quiz, Usagi.” Naru Osaka, Usagi’s best friend, tried to comfort her while hiding her own exam marked with an “89” on it.

“Why couldn’t it have been 300 points higher?!”

“Statistically speaking that’s an impossibility.” Umino Guro, your standard overachiever, piped in.

“Do you have to remind me?” Usagi bawled.

“Miss Tsukino, I need to talk to you in private.” Ms. Sakurada stood in front of Usagi’s desk, arms crossed in front of her chest and looking quite stern. “Now!”

Moments later, in the now empty classroom, Usagi stood, humbly and contritely, across from Haruna.

“Usagi, I am growing increasingly concerned with your poor performance. I mean, a 36 may be a few points higher, but it’s still a failure.” Haruna tried to sound sympathetic. It wasn’t working that well.

“I know, Ms. Sakurada.”

“I’m worried that something might be going on. Is there anything that you wish to talk about? Anything at home that’s troubling you?”

“N-no m’am, nothing like that.”

“I know you’re at a very difficult age. Worrying about high school and about boys.”

Boys?! Oh no I don’t want to hear this from my teacher!

“Why, I remember when I was your age. The pressures of advancing into the next grade, pleasing my parents, trying to catch the eye of Hideki-kun on the basketball team. He had that gorgeous blonde hair and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled at me, it was…”

Nonononononono!!

“I myself almost repeated my last year of middle school. Which is why I’m saying this to you now. Ms. Tuskino!”

“Y-yes?”

“I know it’s going to be extremely difficult but you must pull through! You have to give it everything that you have!”

“Yes, m’am.”

My name’s Usagi Tsukino. I’m a middle school student. My blood type is O and my birthstone is a pearl. My favorite colors are pink and white, and my favorite foods are sweets and ice cream. I’m a bit of a klutz and not very coordinated, and I especially hate taking tests because I always do terrible. Lately I’ve been doing worse than usual, which sucks because our high school entrance exams are coming up.

With her head hanging low, Usagi slowly, sadly marched away from school on her way to Hikawa Shrine, to attend the routine study group that had been established by Usagi and her friends, Ami Mizuno, Rei Hino, Makoto Kino, and Minako Aino. She dreaded every step of the way. She held the tear stained quiz in her hands. The red 36 cruelly mocked her.

“Uggggh, I don’t wanna go to study group again.” Usagi moaned. “Like it’ll make a difference anyway. I’d rather just spend time with Mamo-ahhh!”

Usagi wasn’t watching where she was going and had just bumped into some innocent passerby. She soon fell on her backside on the cold concrete sidewalk, dropping her bookbag and the test. This day just kept getting better.

“WHY DON’T YOU WATCH WHERE YOU’RE-oh Mamoru!” Usagi started yelling in anger until she saw the person she had walked into was Mamoru Chiba, her boyfriend and future husband.

“Usagi?” Mamoru extended a hand to help Usagi up off the sidewalk.

“Wow! I was just talking about and here you are! How lucky!” Usagi squealed.

“What’s this? I think you dropped something.” Mamoru bent down to pick up something Usagi had dropped after bumping into him. The test! Oh crap!

“No no no don’t-“ Usagi tried to stop him from seeing the hideous red mark.

Too late.

“36?” Mamoru read out loud. Then he saw the look on Usagi’s face and realized the tone of voice he’d said “36” in, and Mamoru frantically attempted to back peddle for everyone’s sake. “Well, hey, isn’t this score 3 points higher than the last quiz you took?”

And of course, that did NOT help.

“THAT’S THE SAME THING NARU SAAAAAID!!!!”

“H-hey! Usagi it’s alright! Would a parfait from Crown Parlor help?” Mamoru interjected in an attempt to stop Waterfall Tsukino.

Moments later, after downing one of Crown Parlor’s delectable ice cream parfaits, Usagi felt calmer, but still very ashamed of her poor test score and her earlier tantrum.

“I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to make such a scene.” Usagi apologized. “I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Mamoru offered as he poured some sugar into his coffee. Usagi sighed.

“It’s just all these tests. Ever since they announced at school that we would be preparing for our entrance exams, we’ve been getting more tests and quizzes then we used to. I was used to getting bad grades before, but now I’m getting 30s and 40s almost three times a day. Mama’s threatening to cut off my allowance for good unless I manage to get at least a 65, and I haven’t been getting much sleep lately.”

“How have your study sessions been going?” Mamoru inquired.

“Not well I guess. Everybody’s been trying so hard, but I think I’m the only one who hasn’t made any progress. Even Minako managed to get a 71 on her last quiz.” Usagi further explained.

(Minako: WHY DOES THAT SOUND SO CONDESCENDING USAGI?!)

“I don’t even know why I have to study anyway. I know I’m going to become Neo-Queen Serenity in a few years so what’s the point?” Usagi rationalized.

“You shouldn’t think like that.” Mamoru gently, but firmly, interjected into Usagi’s train of thought. “As a future queen, it’s important to receive a good education. It will help in the future when you have to make tough decisions.”

“You sound like Ami when you say things like that.” Usagi mentioned. As a matter of fact, Ami had said the exact same thing the other day. Only more… passionately.

(Ami: USAGI! AS A FUTURE QUEEN IT’S IMPORTANT TO RECEIVE A GOOD EDUCATION! IT WILL HELP IN THE FUTURE WHEN YOU HAVE TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS!)

“I’ll bet your high school entrance exams were a breeze.” Usagi guessed.

“Well, I wouldn’t say they were a breeze…” Mamoru trailed off, remembering a few years back when he was entering high school and the dents he’d put into his apartment walls from banging his head against them out of frustration.

(Young Mamoru: SINE! COSINE! SINE! COSINE! WHAT’S! THE! DIFFERENCE?!)

“But I really do think you’re showing improvement.” Mamoru said as earnestly as he could. “Three points higher is still three points higher.”

“So I failed with a higher score. Big whoop.” Usagi sighed as she tried balancing her spoon on her upper lip.

“I don’t think you should give up so easily, Usagi. That’s not like you.”

“I wish I could back to 7th or 8th Grade. Back then, I could do all the dreaming I wanted about entering high school without having to worry about studying for entrance exams. We’d all talk about what kind of new uniforms we were going to wear. The clubs we’d join. Sports events. Student festivals.” Usagi sighed. “At least Rei doesn’t have to worry about entrance exams.”

(Rei: I already dealt with this crap from Minako, Usagi.)

“Dreaming on itself isn’t going to get you anywhere, Usagi. You should at least be able to say you gave it your very best.” Mamoru continued to attempt to cast things in a more sympathetic light in order to be supportive to depressed Usagi. He reached over and took Usagi’s hand into his.

“You really think I can do it?” Usagi asked.

“I know you can. You can do anything when you put your mind to it.”

“Mamoru! To have such faith in me!”

“Like you said, there are a lot of things to look forward to about entering high school. Just focus on them while you’re studying, and I think it’ll help.”

“You really think so?”

“Sure. And besides, think about being able to do all of that with the girls. I don’t think they’d be happy heading into a brand new school knowing they’d be leaving you behind.”

“That’s true, I guess.” Usagi agreed.

“And I love to see you in your brand new school uniform on your first day.” Mamoru told her.

“My first day…” Usagi blushed and suddenly her eyes became a little glassy.

My first day of high school. I can see it now. The cherry blossoms in full bloom on a wonderfully warm and sunny spring day. The morning bell signaling the start of class. I’m proudly walking through the entrance with my friends by my side. We’re all wearing the same uniform, a badge of honor.

Manga club with Minako, gardening club with Makoto.

We all do study sessions at Rei’s place.

Ami oversees our booth for the cultural festival.

We stop at Crown Parlor on the way home from school for fruit parfaits, and everyone will turn to us and say “Wow, they look like such responsible high school students!”

And finally, the day I can show Mamoru my brand new school uniform as a proud high school student. I’m the very picture of feminine maturity. He’ll hold me close, I’ll feel his heartbeat, and then he’ll say to me with such pride:

“Usagi, the way you wear your new uniform, you’re the very picture of feminine maturity.”

“Mamoru, do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do, Usagi. I love you, Usagi.”

“Mamoru, I love you too! I’ve always loved you.”

“Usagi, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Yes Mamoru?”

“Usagi…”

“Usagi? Uh, Usagi?” Mamoru asked. Usagi was lost in thought and drooling a little bit. “Usagi you’ve got a little, um…”

“USAGI!”

Came the voice of four girls from behind Usagi.

“We were looking all over for you!” Makoto said.

“You kept us waiting for like a half hour!” Minako complained.

”H-hi everyone!” Usagi nervously said. “I was just-“

“Playing hooky from study group again!” Rei scolded her. “I told we were going to find her here. Come on!”

“Ah! But I’m with-“ Usagi was interrupted as the girls hoisted her up by her elbows and dragged her out of Crown Parlor.

“I made an entire plate of delicious hot sandwiches for us to nibble on while we study and now they’re cold.”

“So sorry about this Mamoru, but if you’ll excuse us.” Ami apologized, but nevertheless with that scary glint on her glasses.

“O-of course.” Mamoru stammered.

“Now now, if I have to miss out on valuable date time to study, so do you!” Minako explained. Not that she had someone to date at the moment, mind you.

“Well, uh, I guess we’re gonna have to cut back on our private time until your exams are over.” Mamoru nervously said. Usagi turned white as a sheet as the girls dragged her away.

“But, but, Mamoruuuuuuuu!!!”

Mamoru sighed.

“Be strong, Usagi. Be strong.”