Distraction

Punishment

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, HUH?" The delinquent baseball player screams as he holds me in a headlock. Resting in my room is the team captain, Yuki Tetsuya, and Miyuki Kazuya, the genius catcher of the team. I recognize them all from my research and watching their games.

"HEY! LISTEN TO YOUR UPPERCLASSMEN WHEN THEY'RE TALKING!" And the man who is currently a good case for why baseball shouldn't be a contact sport is Kuramochi Yoichi.

"I said I'm sorry! I didn't realize you'd all be outside!" I try to plead my case, but his grip only tightens.

"Well, then you'd better start watching where you fling spiders!"

"This room is a lot cleaner than I expected it to be, did you spend all day in here?" Yuki begins, looking around at my handiwork. Kuramochi loosens his vice grip for a bit, allowing me to squeak in a confirmation. "I apologize that you had to do it all on your own when you first came here. You were supposed to get help." Yuki's tone became very pointed, and Kuramochi let go of me completely and dropped me like a sack of potatoes on the floor to turn and look elsewhere, opting for my collection of CDs.

"Ohhh, you have some movies too..."

"Hahaha! All of a sudden the spider isn't that bad, is it?" Miyuki laughs, but I'm more focused on Yuki. his full attention is on me, and I can feel how he became captain. His leadership and genuine way of reaching the hearts of others permeate in both his gaze and his words. It makes me want to open up, and before I even think, I speak after scurrying to my feet.

"Well, with how important this program is to me, I recognize that I'm gonna have to do a lot of this work on my own." I clasp my hands together and bow a bit before speaking again. I need to repair the poor first impressions I made. "Also, I don't think I introduced myself beyond the spider, my name is Hirayama Aoi. it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Yuki Tetsuya."

"Oh, so you already know some names, Journalist?" Miyuki tilts his head slightly at me. I can already feel his Kitsune craftiness from here. He's not one to be trifled with. I need to be careful around him. I begin messing with a pull string on my hoodie. I no longer have long hair, so it's the most I can do without outright playing with my new short hair. That isn't very masculine.

"Of course I know names. I'd be a bad journalist if I didn't do research before coming here."

Yuki nods before rising up from his seat. "I'm glad you're adjusting well. Tomorrow I hope to introduce you and the program to the entire team. I trust that you won't throw spiders at them." I shrink back into my hoodie as both the cackles of Miyuki and Kuramochi ring out in my room. Ugh. I want to dissolve into a puddle of nothingness and shame. I'm such an idiot, but at least they think I'm a boy. Midori would have died by now.