Imagination

15. The View From Above

Miya

The past few days were pretty rough, I'm not going to lie. My mind was completely clouded with doubt over whether he truly did love me, or if it was all just a game for him. My heart was torn, and I really saw no reason to continue living without him.

That sounds way too dark. I just saw no point in trying to change myself at all for the better, and just stay the plain and boring person I always was. What I'm saying is that it'd be hard to get over him, but I would manage and be just fine in the end.

I hope.

I sat in my English classroom like always, watching the clock with a heavy sigh. It was finally Friday, the day right before the Interhigh Preliminaries for every volleyball team in the prefecture. Obviously I wanted to not come at all, having this weird rift between me and Toru, but I couldn't betray Iwa. He had asked me way back in April if I wanted to come, and I gladly accepted. Even if that dumb brunette of a captain was there, I'd still cheer on the team. I could never hate him, even if he shattered my already cracked heart into a million pieces.

"Alright everyone, please be aware that your finals are coming up soon. This will be worth over fifty percent of your grade, so I highly recommend you read through the material I've given you over the past few months. Everything I've taught you so far is or will be related to certain questions on the quiz, so please, review them. If not for me, but for yourselves."

Ms. Katagiri seemed particularly pushy about these exams, and seemed to be directing this message at the students who were trailing behind.

Thanks to my assistance, Toru was getting a pretty stable grade right now to my most recent knowledge. Ms. Katagiri had let me know when his progress significantly shifted, and she was absolutely thrilled. Something else that I understood was that Toru knew what he was doing. If anything I said got into that thick skull of his, he'd know exactly what materials to study, and get a good mark on this exam.

I caught myself staring at the back of his head a bit too long, and averted my eyes as I realized what I was doing. Damn it, if anyone's got me in deep, it's him. I guess the tables really have turned, haven't they?

"That's all for today, students. Oh, one more thing before you all head out for the weekend, a message from the volleyball coaches," my teacher began, and pulled out a small sheet of paper from her pocket.

"Our team from Aoba Johsai will be in the Interhigh Preliminaries for this year's volleyball matchup. And since we have two of the members sitting in this very classroom, let's give them a big hand and wish them good luck in tomorrow's games!"

Right as she finished, people broke into heavy applause, and I was inclined to join in shortly after. My vision shifted to Iwa, and I sent him a warm smile and a gentle head nod.

He scoffed lightly and sent me a small grin back, folding his arms over his chest in confidence.

My eyes moved to Toru's back, and I clapped for him as well, not that he could see it. No matter what, I'd still cheer for them all tomorrow at the games. I didn't know exactly when they'd be playing, so I thought that just coming to watch some of the other games would be a good idea too. I wanted to see some different techniques from other teams, and see how they claimed victory.

"Now go enjoy your weekend everyone. We'll be talking about more exam material next Monday, so please don't be late. Have fun, and make sure to hand in your acceptance letters for the universities and colleges you applied for as soon as possible!"

I stood up from my chair, and quickly packed up my things.

Throwing my bag over my shoulder, I looked back over at Iwa, and sent him a small wave. He returned it with a sorrowful expression, and I began to walk towards the door of the classroom.