Stumbling Over Love | ✓

Chapter 20

_Chapter 20~ Again and Again_

Gym class.

Aka every couch potato's nightmare.

All second years were in the gym, as it was mixed, and one, two, three—they were all going down. The star of the school's basketball team was breaking their ankles whenever he dribbled the ball, and he was darn proud of that.

I was honestly worried about their pride after each and every gym class. How could they possibly go on with their lives when they got publicly shamed by an ace player—Akelius Academy's sole individual loved by all and then some. But this gym class was different, mainly because instead of being benched, Ryu and Miyabi were playing right in the midst of this chaos.

"Over here, Kaede!"

"Amami!"

Five on five and the ace—a redhead by the name of Kaede Amami—was having difficulty getting past the defence. Time was frittering away, and only the sounds of the basketball hitting the floor filled the air. The people sitting on the bench had sucked in a large amount of oxygen a minute ago, and some were already turning blue.

"Thirty seconds!" somebody shouted from the back.

The teams advanced. Successfully, a boy on the blue jersey side knocked the basketball from Kaede's grasps. The game was in motion yet again.

I later realized it was Miyabi with the ball. He swiftly dribbled down the court but as he reached red territory, the person in the middle had their arms waving frantically, making it impossible for him to pass or to shoot. The red team lunged for him. Smirking, Miyabi quickly sidestepped and jumped, leaning back to take a shot from the free throw line.

The entire red bench bolted to their feet in disbelief as they watched the ball soar. Though, before it could dare hit the net, somebody caught it. With one hand.

All the people playing had frozen. But before they could realize what was happening, Ryu had already made it to the opposing net.

It had been a tight game. Though, the basket Ryu shot went straight in. I watched in utter awe as the orange-haired male breathed heavily as the whistle from the gym teacher rang.

Nobody cheered for him, like I kind of expected. Instead, the red team did so for Kaede, inflating his ego even more, commending him for being the sole reason they won the game. Even the blue team stepped in, declaring they'd win next time.

I understood Ryu wouldn't be their first option to celebrate with, despite being the reason they won the game instead of the ace, but for him to not even receive a single "great basket" was a little unfair.

"Good game, everyone!"

The exclaim was followed by the clacking of heels. Three girls stepped onto the court, all carrying towels and containers. Aiko Natsumoto, the top girl of Akelius Academy that nobody wanted to mess with, offered them to all the players with a smile.

The boys accepted the towels from twins Tsubasa and Tsubame Makoto, Aiko's posse, and even accepted the chopped fruits she brought.

All the girls who had been watching this game unfold since we finished our own earlier, scattered for lunch. I stuck around though, my eyes still glued to Ryu who now had Miyabi at his side, most likely arguing about something nonsensical again. I probably would have left too if I didn't have a reason to stick around.

"Ooh, is that Sheep?"

Apprehension flooded through me the moment Miyabi caught sight of me. I feigned a smile as he neared, Ryu in suit.