Stinging Sensation (Haikyuu!!)

002

CHAPTER 2. FORK IN A SOUP KITCHEN 

THE SOFT BLUE GLOW OF HER CELLPHONE numbs her brain into a dull fuzz. The bustling hall around her slowly disappearing the longer she scrolled through her phone. Like an invisible hand covering her eyes, the world around her began to lose detail, turning into shapeless figures. Ink spots on a Seurat painting--just colourful dots up close to Minami the longer she bathed her eyes in the blue glow. 

Her fingers scrolled automatically as her brain did little to process the rapidly moving pixels. Old teammates and rivals adorned the famed white and purple colours; some even wearing blue and white. Minami's grip on her phone tightened unconsciously--her faced twisted into sick jealously for the people she grew up with instead of happiness. Her breathing getting heavier the longer she stared at the pictures, her finger hesitating to hit like, but she does it anyways.

I was better than all of them, rang through her head over and over like a broken record-- the words burned into the tape and was now smoking in the player, filling her head with nothing but it. 

That was true. Minami was better than all of them. You didn't' have to know anything about volleyball, you only need to have eyes, to know that was true. That's why her team was undefeated all three years she was on the team. The way she moved on the court, her presence, everything about the girl demanded your eyes to follow her and the #1 burning on her back. She had an air of command that shrouded her. The knight in shining armor with an arm cocked back, ready to spike down rival castle walls and gates, leaving nothing but rubble. Yet, she would have been nothing without them by her side. 

The grip on her phone loosen. Her breathing came back to a regular pace, looking down at her beige sweater vest and red bow. 

Without her teammates, Minami would be as useful as a fork in a soup kitchen. Who would set to her? Who would jump alongside her to block? Who would cover the blocks she missed? Who would receive the ball?

"What's wrong with me?" she questions under her breath while shaking her head in disappointment in attempt to physically shake the putrid thought out of her head. 

Her face immediately dropped at the thought of her even thinking that she was better than them. Minami's hand comes down to briefly massage her knee over the brace, the material scratching her calloused palms as her new found jealously courses through her body like the stinging pain riding up her leg. 

The school bell rings, causing Minami to snap back to the crowed halls of Karasuno High. The dots turning back into moving students scuttling into classrooms. She catches the him staring at her for a brief moment before he slips away into the room. 

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Mr. Takeda gave them one final bow before leaving the room. His toupee slipping slightly for a brief moment, but they all looked away as if the man was born with that long, glorious hair. Hats off to his wigmaker. 

"Was something on my face?" she suddenly questioned the boy as they both started to pack their belongings. Minami didn't bother to look at him as she gathered her notebooks into a pile, hitting them against her desk before putting them into her bag.