Serendipity

Ninja Fight go!

"I see you have brought your stars," Heather says instead of greeting the group in front of her door. She tilts her voice slightly into a funky accent, probably mimicking an old English person. "Good, good. Follow me, good men, to the place of battle."

We march dutifully behind her, all carrying our stars in little plastic bags found in our kitchens. Tim looks incredibly confident, Tai is fumbling with his bag while looking somewhat nervous, and Ream just looks excited.

"You know," Tim says, looking at Heather as she tugs open a huge glass door leading to an even bigger backyard. "I'm pretty sure that's not the right accent."

"What do you mean?" Heather turns to look at him curiously.

"Like, I'm pretty sure there weren't any English ninjas," He says. "It'd be a Japanese accent."

"How do you know?" She cocks an eyebrow. "Maybe the English were just so good at being ninjas nobody knew they existed."

He opens his mouth, closes it, then opens it again and shrugs. "Huh. I suppose you could be right."

"Of course I am," She snorts. "And anyways, here's where the battle will take place." She gestures grandly at the backyard, as if we hadn't noticed it. "Prepare yourselves."

I clutch my bag closer to my chest, feeling the corners of my stars prick me through the plastic. Maybe throwing pointy paper at people isn't such a good idea...

"Believe it or not," Tim says, slinging a relaxed arm around my shoulders. "These things are really hard to aim."

It's like he can read my mind.

"Yeah?" I glance at his bag, full of pristine stars with perfect edges folded with an expert's hand. "You sure you're one to talk?"

He follows my gaze, then snorts. "I am the one to talk, since I've made these for longer than y'all knew they existed."

"Hm," I chew on the inside of my cheek doubtfully. He pats my shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't worry too much," He tells me, pulling away. "I won't aim for you."

"Thanks," I smile.

A minute later, Heather comes back out to the backyard donned in dark clothes, a makeshift red belt made from ribbon tied around her waist and another smaller one in her hair, pulling up her blonde curls into a ponytail. She holds her bag of stars near her hip.

"Everyone ready?" She asks, looking around at us. I'm pretty sure we all feel underdressed now, but none of us say anything, though we do nod in response to her question. "Alrighty then!" She grins, lifting a star to the sky. "Ninja Fight go!"

And suddenly our little group descends into chaos, throwing little paper ninja stars at each other and missing 98% of the time. Occasionally, one will hit, and there'll be a triumphant laugh, then another will hit the person that threw the lucky star and the cycle of throw, grab-from-the-ground, dodge, will repeat.

I think I hit someone five times, which is more than I was expecting. I get hit about ten times, which is less than I was expecting, but Tim stays true to his word and makes sure not to hit me.

At some point, Heather pulls out her giant star, and suddenly the sole goal of everyone is Get The Big Star, and Ninja Fight turns into Ninja Keepaway With The Occasional Fight.

I even manage to snatch the giant star for a couple seconds, before I trip, and the next thing I know the star is no longer in my hands, but is now being paraded away by Tai in the opposite direction.

Tim helps me up, shoots me a smile, then bolts after Tai.

I arm myself with a couple more stars, then follow right behind.

My heart pounds, and my lungs burn with the exertion, but a smile is stuck on my face, no matter how many times I fall or miss.

And when I collapse onto the grass an hour later, I grin up at the sky, wondering why the universe took so long to send me these amazing things.

Tim flomps down next to me, panting hard.

"I'm pooped," He says, lifting his arms and waving them slowly in the air. "How about you?"

"Same," I swallow, my throat dry. I close my eyes, listening to the sounds of Heather and Ream's playful bickering and the blood rushing in my ears. "That was so fun."

"Right?" Tim laughs. "And it's funny to think we're in highschool, playing Ninjas with our friends."

"Never too late to have fun," I shrug. I was just thinking the same thing, but I don't care how old we are if we're having this much fun.

"That's a good motto."

"It should be The Gang's motto."

"It should."

"You think the others would agree?"

"I don't see why not."

I inhale deeply, my lungs aching. "We should do this more often."

"Totally," Tim nods enthusiastically. "This is a beast of a workout. Running and jumping and ducking and..."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

Then there's silence. But it's a comfortable silence, so neither of us break it.

---

"You look..." Lina stares at me from the dining room table as I kick off my shoes. "Dirty."

"Thanks," I roll my eyes. It's a good thing I didn't wear anything white today, since it probably would've gotten stained from all the dirt and grass that's all over my current outfit. "It's the new look."

"I see," She nods slowly. "Did you have fun?"

I pause so I can meet her eyes. "Yes."

"Good," She smiles and turns back to her phone, bouncing her leg under the table. "Make sure you take a shower."

"I will."

And the next thing I know I'm freshly showered and draped across my bed, scrolling through the group chat.

Heather |I hope everyone got a good bath after today lol

Ream |i dunno about a bath, but I did take a shower

Ream |I don't like bathing in my own filth

Tai |ew

Heather |as long as you get clean

Timothy |so when are we getting together again?

Heather |uhhhhhh maybe next weekend?

Heather |whatever works for you guys

Tai |I should be able to make it next weekend...

Timothy |same

Timothy |Sydney?

I grin and quickly type.

|I should be able to make it

|I'll have to ask tho

Ream |okay this time i can actually say we LITERALLY JUST GOT TOGETHER

Timothy |DID YOU NOT HAVE FUN

Heather |i did

Tai |me toooo

|I had way too much fun

|I'll also be sore for like a week

Ream |fineeeee but don't get mad if I don't show

Heather |how much y'all wanna bet he'll come? I say ten bucks he will

Tai |ten

Timothy |five

|Five

Ream |NONE because I'm not coming.

Yet, the next time we plan to get together, Ream shows up. None of us go through with the bet, but we do laugh and say "I told you so!" for a few minutes.

And as I lie in bed the following night, exhausted and sore all over, I wonder if this is what NYC will be like.