A Goddess Wears Orange

Chapter 15

The school was abuzz with excitement the next day. South Crescent High was throwing its doors wide open to friends and families, local officials and VIPs, and students from other schools, including rival sports teams who would be playing against the South Crescent High athletes in the exhibition games to be held at various times throughout the day. With the prospect of new customers, activities that had become routine in the last three days once again took on a fresh energy and tension—helped in part by the fact that there weren’t any more morning classes to slog through. The different sections and clubs were kicking things into higher gear. Today, the real competition for the best booth would begin. 

What Yumi soon discovered was that the school was abuzz with something other than excitement. She’d walked into her classroom that morning, lugging her white goddess costume along with her backpack, and found herself the focus of several curious, sympathetic stares. She shrugged them off at first, but as they set about prepping their café, it became harder and harder for her to ignore how every now and then a girl would pat her on the shoulder or dart over to give her a quick, comforting hug, or a guy would nod at her and say things like “be strong” or “we’re with you, Yumi.” 

She was standing beside her shrine, holding the dish she’d just filled with fresh oranges and looking thoroughly mystified after a couple more girls had offered her gestures of sympathy, when Lisette arrived. Waving goodbye to Erik, she spotted Yumi, and headed right toward her. 

“Don’t pay any attention to what they’re saying, okay? Remember what your sister told you. Remember those sandwiches in seventh grade. Remember his threads,” she urged, grasping Yumi by the shoulders and giving her a little shake, causing one of the oranges to fall and roll away. 

“What? What’re you talking about?” Yumi said bewilderedly just as Fran burst through the door, panting as if she’d run all the way to the classroom. 

“Oh my gosh, Yumi, I just heard about it!” she said after she’d gotten her breath back and straightened her glasses. “Are you okay? Don’t worry, we don’t believe it for a second either.” 

Yumi backed away from her friends, holding the oranges in front of her like a protective shield. “Okay, somebody explain to me right now what is going on.” 

There was an awkward silence until one of her classmates cleared her throat nervously. “Yumi, some girls saw Ren and your sister Tala hugging each other in the garden yesterday.” 

“The news is spreading all over school,” said another girl. “They said Ren confessed to Tala and she accepted his feelings, and now the two of them are dating.” 

A couple of guys glanced at each other. “I don’t know. Playing two girls at once—and sisters, too? That doesn’t sound like Ren’s style to me,” said one to another. 

The other guy shrugged. “Yeah, but you weren’t here the other day, so you didn’t see him go totally Casanova on Tala. Not that I blame him. That Tala is just so—mmf!” He peeled off the rag that had hit him square in the face and glared at the girl who’d flung it at him. “What’s your problem?”

“You are!” the girl retorted heatedly. “Yumi is right there. Can’t you be a little more sensitive?” 

“Guys, it’s okay.” As every head turned toward her, Yumi set the oranges down and smiled brightly. “I already knew this would happen, remember? I told him to go talk to her myself. It’s no big deal, really. Let’s just show our support for him later at the exhibition game, all right?” 

With that, she turned and calmly finished preparing the shrine, ignoring the concerned looks her classmates were sending her. But later, as she stood inside a cubicle in the washroom dressed only in her underwear, she found herself unable to move, immobilized by a mixture of uncertainty, embarrassment at what she was about to attempt, self-doubt, and plain, old-fashioned nerves. Her insecurities about herself and her unfavorable comparisons with her sister were rising up inside her, chanting their familiar mantras inside her head. I can’t do this; it’s impossible for me. I’m not as smart as Ate Tala. I’m not as graceful or confident or even half-way pretty. I’m just her stupid, clumsy, dorky, witch-haired freak of a sister. What makes me think I can do something as crazy as try to get Ren to notice me—especially since he already has someone like her? I might as well just give up.