Secrets, Socials, and Seigaku

Chapter 12

It was quiet for a moment as we all took in what had just happened. "Well, that was...intriguing?" It was hard having to try and find the right term for the situation.

“Both of you stop wandering around places like this!” Kaidoh told us with a raised voice.

Echizen and I both looked at each other before saying in unison “Yes, sir.”  

As we walked back I couldn’t help but smile about the match to come. I looked down to see Echizen smirking too. He was probably excited for his match against this Shinji the girl had told us about. "His tennis rivals that of Fuji," Is what she had said. I smiled knowingly to myself. Echizen is one lucky guy. I would love to play that match. I think if I had the chance I would too. Ever since I started hanging out with the tennis team my resolve to not play had been crumbling little by little. At this point I didn’t really mind playing at all. The only thing that I made myself promise was that I would never give the sport my all. If it ever came to the point where I had to seriously try then I would immediately stop playing That sounded fair to me! That’s the least I can do to keep a little bit of my promise.

By the time we made it back to the team it was pouring rain. We went to the benches quickly because overhead was a roof. We silently sat down and finished watching the game between the golden pair and Fudomine. Eventually Seigaku won the game. I heard the freshmen cheer from the sidelines. “Wait to go, golden pair!” They shouted.

When Oishi and Kikumaru walked over we all congratulated them and handed them some towels to dry off. Coach Ryuzaki got up and went to talk with the juges about how the rain would effect the matches and somewhat. I looked over to Kaidoh. “Kaidoh, it’s almost your turn.” I said with a smile on my face. He just nodded at the statement. Seemed like this was the typical Kaidoh.

When Coach Ryuzaki got back she announced that we were going to wait and see what happens with the weather. Then they would decide weather to postpone it or not. As we waited Kaidoh eventually got up and took a walk to regain his concentration before the match and eventually Echizen got up too. I sighed bored at the turn out of things. Tezuka was sitting next to me with Inui right beside him trying to keep out of the rain. I looked over to the other team. My eyes landed on the red headed boy from before. I think that girl called him Kamio. He was wearing his headphones and stomping his feet to the music, this kept him warmed up for his match. “Well, looks like he’s quite smart after all.” I mumbled.

I seemed to have caught Inui's attention. “What did you say?” he asked curiously.

I pointed my finger at Kamio who sat further down the bench. “He’s listening to the music to keep his concentration and relax, so he doesn’t get stressed before his match. But he’s also tapping his feet so he doesn’t cool down.” I explained to Inui knowing that he already knew this.

He looked a bit surprised at my explanation. “I didn’t know you would notice something like that Clair. That was quite the observation.” He said in praise. At this point Tezuka had decided to pay attention to our conversation. 

I shurgged. “It really isn’t that big of a deal. I only know that because I used to do it myself.” I explained modestly.

Tezuka kept his stoic face but questioned. “You used to do that?”

I nodded. “Remember? I was telling you how I used to play tennis.” I started. They both nodded their heads. “Well, that was the same technique I used." I told them. I smield remembering how I would practically dance in my seat before a match. "I would listen to my music before a mattch then hit the ball according to the rhythm of the song. It really throws your opponents off.” I explained.