Jaya Week 2024

look over here

A flash of auburn hair, messy but stylized, strong jaw and face plastered with a devious smirk, she knows she saw him out of the corner of her eye. She searches for him among the crowd. His blue ninja gi is conspicuously absent from the sea of participants in their matching athletic sweatsuits provided by the tournament organizers.

Or maybe it is her mind playing tricks on her. It's been so long and she misses him so much.

Nya has made a fool of herself enough times trying to spot Jay and only finding another competitor with similar height and hair color. It's humiliating how much effort she puts into these fruitless searches. She should be focused on winning this competition—on her own goals. Instead, she is looking for one particular man in a sea of hundreds of competitors.

"Look over here!" she wants to shout, but keeps her jaw clinched tight.

It's embarrassing how often she looks for him without success. Her friends don't say anything about it, but they must know. She's not oblivious to their whispers and knowing glances. Cole has told her more than once that Jay will come back when they least expect it, just like how they all united to stop the threat of Beatrix and the merge quakes. He had smiled at her with that sympathetic understanding Cole is so good at. Nya hates being pitied by the others.

She spots someone again out of the corner of her eye, tall with messy auburn hair styled up with gel. The man turns around and disappointment sinks into her chest like lead. It isn't him. Of course it isn't. Her search continues as she moves through the participants.

Even Lloyd said to call it a night, get some rest before the tournament begins in the morning. She wants to believe he understands her pain, but it's hard not to think his advice comes from a place of annoyance rather than sympathy. Everyone else feels sorry for her, but Lloyd just gets this distant look in his face whenever she mentions Jay, and now Kai, being gone. The situation is weighing on everyone.

She has to be strong.

Nya scans the crowd again, pushing down the urge to sigh in frustration. The competitors mill about in clusters talking amongst themselves. She doesn't care about their conversations right now, only searching for that familiar face. There are hundreds of competitors here and none of them are him.

Nya closes her eyes, feeling as though it is time to give up her search for the night. Her hearts aches and her stomach feels like it is sinking. She takes a deep breath to center herself and then opens her eyes. Her brother is gone and Jay is still missing. She's never felt so empty inside, so hollow. Her fists clench tightly at her sides and she resolves to push her emotions aside. She needs to focus on the tournament tomorrow. Winning will make Kai and Jay proud of her. They will return to find her having accomplished something incredible. That thought helps to steel her resolve.

With a renewed sense of determination, Nya starts toward the dormatory where the competitors will be staying during the tournament. She will win this tournament for her family.

She has to be strong.