Her Captain, The Gamemaster

Trying To Move On

Tomorrow was Graduation.

That meant today was our last day of being middle school students before we begin summer break and become nasty little shits.

I woke up with Soo-ah cuddling me on my many layers of duvets on my bed. We're both snuggled under the sheets and it's really warm. I move to wake her up but I pause just before I poke her cheek. 'It's cold. Let's stay here a little longer,'

I ignore all my common sense before snuggling my back against her stomach. I close my eyes and doze off despite having to arrive at school by 8 for a meeting with coach. It was almost 8:30.

I hear my phone vibrate but I ignore it. 'I'm not captain anymore. Stop bugging me already, woman,'

I pull my sheets up to my ears to ignore the sound but I feel the figure hugging me reach over to grab my phone and disconnect my charger. 'Yes?' she answered, mostly awake.

I try not to listen to their conversation but duck me for being blessed with good hearing.

'Soo-ah?' I hear my coach's voice.

'Yes, ma'am?'

'Why wasn't Tang here today for the meeting? All the club captains and leaders came and I felt so embarrassed in front of all the scouts because she didn't come. So much scouts and alumni came to see her and ask about our team!'

I groan a little too loud and I feel Soo-ah glare at me a little.

*Soo-ah's POV*

'Really? Maybe she thought the new captain was going. I'll be sure to tell her about this when she wakes up,'

'That means you two and the rest of the regulars have to attend that party tonight. They want to meet you guys. I know they have scholarships around the world for you two. And China's girl's team wants her! I'm so mad at her for making me embarrass myself in front of Lang Ping. Tang better be glad Lang Ping can speak English!' I hear my coach mutter a few Japanese curse words and I sweat dropped a little before widening my eyes.

'China wants her?' I feel something inside me freeze when I heard that and I look at the back of her sleeping figure. China is Li-ah's home and always will be. The only reason she works so hard is for her people in Taishan. It's her only motivation. She traveled overseas to represent her family. There's no way she would deny that invitation.

'Because like it or not, it's her family first. She's been homesick for as long as she's been away,' I feel my heart drop when I came to that conclusion and I swallow the lump in my throat.

'Ok coach, the six of us will be there tonight,'

'Good, make sure to wear something nice. No sweatpants of exercising clothes. Bring your jerseys. They'll want to see you guys place after and they have a foreign team coming here to verse you lot,'

I force a cheery voice and thank my coach. 'Yes coach. Thanks for this opportunity,' before hanging up.

I take a few deep breaths and I shake Li-ah's shoulder to wake her up. We have to get to school by 8:45 for attendance.

*Li's POV*

 I couldn't think properly when I heard my coach speak. China's team? Me? Under the supervision of Lang Ping, the Olympic MVP?

A million thoughts ran through my head as I felt so many mixed emotions ripple through my body. 'That's not possible,'

My heart beat picks up and I feel a smile make its way to my face and small tears begin to leak out of my eyes.

'That's a dream come true,'

I think back to my earliest memories. I've been playing for as long as I could walk. I remember the volleyball plushie I had thrown around as a tiny baby. The rolling and sliding I exercised as a toddler. The bruises and bleeding I had received as a small child.

'Did I do good enough?'

I felt a small shake on my shoulder and I snapped out of my thoughts. I pretend to wake up and open one eye to look at my friend who pointed to my phone which displayed the time.

I get up and walk over to my closet to grab out a pair of my school uniform and I sense Soo-ah get off my bed. 'Li-ah, you missed the meeting today,' I hear her beside me.

'What meeting?' I ask her casually, trying not to let her hear the lie in my voice. It didn't work.

'You know what meeting. And I know you heard the conversation with coach,' she said in a firm voice with a hint of sadness?

I don't say anything.

'China wants you,' she says.

I try to ignore her words. Try to ignore all the mixed emotions I felt when I thought of representing China.

For me, volleyball was representing me. Then it was representing my family. Then my first best friend. Then my whole hometown. Then my new team. My school. The Okinawa prefecture. But China?

No. That can't be right. 

But wouldn't that be amazing?

No, stop it. You'll only get your hopes up.

I gulp, pushing away my thoughts. I hear Soo-ah sigh beside me. 'Bring your jerseys and wear something nice for the party tonight. Our school's made quite a name in the past few years, but I'm sure you already know this,' she said before exiting my room.

I pull out my two jerseys from a coat hanger in my closet, one of the few things I haven't packed. My libero jersey and my other jersey. One is white with red counterparts and three diagonal stripes while the other is red with white counterparts and three diagonal stripes. My second jersey is used when I play other positions. I used my second one in my most recent match, after giving the impression I was a libero, I jumped to spike as a decoy for Soo-ah's setter dump. 

I still remember the opponent's shocked faces when I was rising above them. Everyone had their eyes on the 'libero'. The pipe mixture confused everyone, made them anxious. But when I looked into the eyes of the opposing team's coach, all I felt was my calm revenge.

After making it into nationals, we were hoping to verse our sister powerhouse in Tokyo; Mutekima Middle School. 'Muteki' meaning invincible. I knew the coach there personally but we never got to verse them in the finals.

Kageretami Middle School, a school with a reputation that suited their name perfectly - dirty - had several kids playing that were held several years back and most of them were scandalous gang members and had injured several of their opponents outside of the court.

I remember them pushing LianDuo onto the road before the match. Luckily, I pulled her out of a car's way in time. I was ready to ignore all the rumors regarding the school but I was an eye witness to their crimes.

Takeshima Middle School was an inside joke between me and Soo-ah. 'Keshi' meaning erase. We'll destroy everyone who gets in our way. No one will remember them once we are finished. After all, I don't ever look back.

Author's Note:

sometimes i ask myself what the hell im doing. i should be doing my hw not whatever the hell you call this.

thxx.