Chapter 3: Fall Fantasy

Meilin was sitting at home, frowning hard. She was trying to think of
some way to keep Sakura from going to the dance. She had already went
through a list of things: going to Hawaii, moving to America, visiting
Hong Kong... lots of stuff, but she couldn't figure anything perfect out.
"I bet Li is muttering about how he has to be with Sakura the dance. I
bet it wasn't HIM who asked HER out, it was SAKURA who asked LI out, and
Li is to nice and polite and sweet to back out of it." Then suddenly
Meilin's head shot up, so hard that she hit her bedstand, but she didn't
notice. "That's IT! I've got it!"

Early in the morning, Sakura was modeling a bright pink dress for
Madison, who was trying to choose an outfit for her. "But Madison, I
don't think I want to wear something as, well, revealing and bright as
this." Madison kept looking at Sakura, and finally shook her head.
"Sakura, that dress isn't you. We should find pastel type colors."
Madison continued to dig in Sakura's closet while Sakura undressed,
discouraged. "Madison, are you absolutely SURE we don't have to buy a new
dress?" Madison stopped looking long enough to give Sakura a LOOK that
meant 'of course we dont now stop asking'. "Sakura, if you wear your own
clothes, you'll probably be way more comfortable." Sakura yawned sleepily
in response.
Suddenly there was a sound from Sakura's drawer with the Sakura Cards.
Then there was a loud pop, and red light. "What in the..." Sakura opened
the drawer. "AAAAHHHHHHH! Don't lookdon'tlookdon'tlook!" Kero hid
somthing under a pile of papers. "What's wrong Kero? Is something the
matter?" Kero sighed. "No, but you need to stay out of this drawer until
tonight, right before you leave for the dance. I'm, u-uh, making
something for you." "Ohh! What is it?" Kero looked at Sakura strangely.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Sakura closed the
drawer. "Of course Kero." Madison shrieked. "What's wrong?" "I found it!
This is the dress!"

Li looked up at Sakura's window. He could see her packing up her things
for school. He walked right to the door, and raised his hand to knock,
when... WHAM! Tori slammed open the door and raced on Li to the driveway
and out. "Ouuch..." Li was flat on his face. "Omigosh! Li, are you
alright?" Sakura ran to the doorway, reaching down to help him up. Li
bounced up. "Ye-yeah, I'm alright." Li looked shyly at Sakura. "What
cor.. eh, well, you see, um, the corsage, color?..." Sakura smiled and
giggled. "If you're talking about a corsage, pale blue or purple would
really fit with my dress. Unless, of course, if you want to use Sakura
flower buds." "Um, yeah, thanks. Okay." Silence. "I'll race you to the
end of the block." Sakura asked, wanting to break the silence. Suddenly
Li's competitive side showed. "Yeah? Well, I'm going to beat you." "Yeah
right." "Well, if we're going to race, let's start in three, two, one,
go!" The two raced, laughing hysterically, down to the end of the block,
where the race ended in a tie, unaware of Matt, watching with burning
desire to be in Li's place.
Matt burned in a fury. 'How dare he steal her away from me.' Matt had
liked Sakura at first sight, but it was the exact opposite with Li. 'I
hate Li. I wish I could use my magic to kill him now. But the Dark Shadow
said to wait... I can't disobey him. But in my own time, I can plot
revenge.' He disappeared without a trace in a blink of an eye.

Sakura was looking at her reflection in the floor-length mirror in her
room, putting the finishing touches on her outfit. She was wearing a pale
purple spaghetti-strap dress with a light see-through cover-up. Her hair
was in a neat French braid, and a light pink see-through fabric covered
her head. The dress reached down to her ankles, where she had pale
ice-blue low heels on. The slit on her dress started in the middle of her
thigh, where a pattern of green leaves and stems intertwined with pink
and white roses. In the center of the top of her dress, was a small pale
blue flower, which matched her pale ice-blue choker with the same little
flower but in white. Her nails were shiny and glittery from clear,
glittered nail polish. Her eyes had a light sprinkle of glittery pale
purple eye shadow. Her lips were smooth with lip gloss. "Casual, yet
elegant," Sakura thought happily and nervously. She stepped delicately
over to the door, when Kero called in a whispery voice, "Sakura! Wait!"
Sakura turned around and walked to the desk. She opened the drawer and
asked "What, Kero?" Kero held up a box. "Open it. That's your surprise."
Sakura set down the box, which was decorated like a Sakura card, and
opened it. She gasped. "Kero, you really shouldn't have..." "It wasn't
just me, Sakura. The Sakura cards helped out too." In the box were
smaller, clear boxes filled with sets of crystal earrings. Each set
represented a Sakura card. She saw a pair that glittered more than any
others. She looked closely. "It's the flower card, Kero. These earrings
represent the Flower card." Kero smiled. "Each day, a pair will glitter
more than the others. It represents a card and your mood. Today, you're
happy. Hurry put them on. Madison is outside your bedroom door waiting."
Sakura put them on. She turned around and looked in the mirror again. It
totally completed her outfit. "Thanks Kero." She closed the box and put
it next to the Clow book. Then she kissed Kero on his head and put him
back in her drawer. Then she opened the door. "What do you think
Madison?" Madison shrieked. "It's PERFECT!" They hugged and shrieked.
Suddenly Tori's bedroom door opened. "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS-" Tori started
to shout, but stopped speechless when he saw a beautiful Sakura standing
next to Madison. Sakura smiled happily. "How is it?" Julian peeked from
behind Tori. "You look great, Sakura! Just smile, and then Tori will
talk." Tori looked at Sakura. Even though Sakura was pretty tall, Tori
was way taller. "You look great." The doorbell rang. "I'll get it!"
Julian and Madison raced down the stairs at the same time. "Let's go,
Sakura. Show that Li what you're made of.