Mean Girls

vii. trash photos

Soccer has been a big part of Ryujin's life since she was little; one of her earliest memories is when she was in diapers and unsteady on her chubby little feet, kicking clumsily at a ball and her father crowing that she was a natural. And it wasn't just her father being the typical parent who thought their toddler's diaper was heavy with gold nuggets, no, Ryujin breathes and sweats and bleeds soccer. It is her escape from reality.

When she's sprinting down the field with the soccer ball glued to her feet, the wind in her hair and the smell of freshly cut grass in her nose, she is invincible. The drama and hardships of her life fade into the background like white noise as she flies on an adrenaline cloud and absolutely nothing can bring her down-

A body slams into her so hard that she's sent tumbling ungracefully to the ground like a rag doll.  For a brief moment, she's disoriented, greedily sucking in the breath that had been knocked out of her. Then she realizes that her precious ball has been stolen and the perpetrator is none other than Shin fucking Yuna. Ryujin quickly clambers to her feet and gives chase but Yuna is already too far ahead.

Yuna whizzes across the field with intent and ferocity like a freaking missile, dribbling the ball with practised ease. The girls on Ryujin's team have no chance of stopping her, despite their best efforts. The goalie looks terrified as Yuna charges towards her, shooting the ball into the net behind her before she even realizes what's happening.

Ryujin is this close to screaming in sheer frustration, because this isn't the first time Yuna has used a dirty tackle on her today - it's the third freaking time and therefore not a coincidence. Shin Yuna has it out for her today and Ryujin knows it's about Ryujin hijacking the Clique's table the other day.

Ryujin has tried to not succumb and endure whatever Yuna has dished out for her today, because surely, Yuna's going to be bored soon. That hope dies tragically when Yuna announces it's time for goal practices and looks directly at Ryujin,

"New girl! Start out in the goal, go!"

Ryujin blinks and opens her mouth to protest, because she knows this won't end pleasantly for her. However, before she can even formulate a word, Yuna barks at her,

"Go, girl! We ain't got all day here!"

Ryujin bites hard into the inside of her cheek and forces a smile as she jogs to the goal. She gulps when she realizes that Yuna is planning to go first, and she knows she's dead when Yuna gives her a slightly crazy smirk.

Ryujin is dreadful as she watches Yuna aggressively dribble down the field before she kicks the ball with so much force that it makes a sound that reverberates against the empty bleachers. It feels like slow motion as Ryujin watches the white and black rocket shoot through the air and realizes that Yuna hadn't been aiming at the net behind her, she'd been aiming at her. At the realization, Ryujin lets out an undignified shriek and throws herself to the ground, narrowly dodging the ball as it slams into the net behind her.

"What the fuck was that!" Yuna yells as Ryujin sits on her knees, feeling like she just experienced a near-death situation.

A shadow falls over her and Ryujin lifts her head to look at Yuna who's staring down at her with an unimpressed expression.

"Focus, new girl," Yuna says warningly. "You've been slacking lately."

Ryujin huffs and rises to her feet, glaring at Yuna. "I've been slacking lately? You just tried to kill me."

Yuna chuckles, "Girl, stop being so damn overdramatic. This is soccer. Soccer is war. If you can't stand the fire then get out of my kitchen."

"I think you mean 'if you can't stand the heat-"