Try Your Hardest | Ushijima Wakatoshi

Year 3: Part 6

Uta laid at the kotatsu, staring back from the TV to the clock as she wait for Ushijima to come over. She had already completed her normal routine which consisted of her cleaning every nook and cranny of the house and picked pests off every plant in the garden. Since she did it everyday, there wasn't much to be done, but she did it to kill time and distract herself.

Tomorrow would be the start of a new year. Last year, she didn't get to spend the holiday with her grandmother because she was sick. Though her health had been declining, she didn't expect she would be gone by this year.

When she looks out the window and sees nothing but snow, all she hears is her grandmother's voice calling her. The longer she stares, the louder the voice becomes and the more convinced she is that the voice is real.

Luckily, her thoughts are interrupted when there is a loud knocking on the door.

"It's open!!" she yelled across the house.

She hears the creaking of the wooden gate opening then closing, but no one comes into the living room after some time. Uta sighs, jumps on her feet, and walks to the entrance to see if it happened to be someone other than Ushijima.

When she slides open the door, she's surprised to see all her friends yelling "SURPRISE!!" at her face.

She blinked a few times before settling her eyes on Ushijima who held up a paper bag with groceries and said, "hot pot?"

Everyone was getting nervous when she didn't say anything for about a minute, but when she broke out into a hysterical laughter, they couldn't help but join in. The third year volleyball players were all present as well as a few girls of the swimming team she was close with, and Hyoga. Ushijima and Eri had organized a surprise party for her birthday since it was on the 2nd day of the New Year and everyone would likely be busy for the holiday. They thought she could use the lively company.

"Eri-san!!?" Uta jumped to her friend, attacking her with a great, big hug, "I didn't know you were back!"

"Just flew in last night actually, I'm a bit jet lagged. My dad wasn't too happy about me going out today, but he makes the exception for you," she smiled and handed her a gift.

"You'll have to thank him for me! I'll make some desserts for you to take back!"

Iriye made her rounds, greeting everyone who she hadn't seen since the term ended. Wakatoshi was glad to see her smiling so genuinely. Recently, her happiness seemed halfhearted and her mind was somewhere far away. Being with people who loved her only brought out the best, and he wanted Uta to remember that there are a lot of people who cared for her.

"Good thing I've kept the house clean! Come in, come in!" she motioned everyone into the house.

The guys helped her get floor seats and an extension for the kotatsu so everyone could huddle up around. They all got to work to prepare the hot pot and Uta on the desserts she wanted to gift everyone to take home for the holidays.

While making food, everyone was singing along to popular songs and dancing around the kitchen or dining room. There was a few instances of people throwing food at each other and some people went to the back yard and had a snowball fight, Uta steered clear from that but was happy to watch everyone having the time of their lives.

Uta couldn't remember the last time there had been so much incessant laughter and chatter in the house. The winter break had seemed to stretch on forever with the series of unfortunate events that keep snowballing her way, but the light at the end of the tunnel shined a bit brighter today.

Thanks to the guidance of Akari Shiho, a third year in the swim team, the hot pot was an absolute success. Her family owned a popular spot for the dish amongst a few other foods. Her family had provided everything they needed for the party since they had known Uta and Tamako for years.