This was confusing. I though the girl at the start was supposed to be the protagonist, but the perspective switches to Sakura after a few pages.
Manga, no, really, any story operates on a first come first served basis. The first character that gets introduced, narrates, starts a monologue, or does anything to face the readers, automatically becomes the protagonist of the story. Introducing a side character first, that has no important role, especially in a short story like this? That just doesn't work really well, I still wanted to root for her, even though I realized she isn't gonna be the love interest.