shortstop // kuramochi

0.1 // seido

the first thing maiko notices about seido is the sheer size of it.

the high school was far bigger than any other she was used to, having gone to a relatively small elementary and secondary school. but seido, it was like nothing she'd ever seen before.

"jesus," she gaped to herself, "is it bigger than i remember?"

the first day of high school had arrived and maiko admitted she was nervous. she so desperately wished at this moment she could manifest the courage that flowed through her on the field as she walked through the gates and toward the large building. unfortunately, outside the softball field, maiko seemed to recede into herself more than she'd like to admit.

seido had been her top choice school for quite some time. she was pretty damn proud of herself for passing the entrance exam to make it in.

there was no softball team, which she would have preferred, but the academics were great and they appeared to have a very prosperous baseball team. even if she couldn't join the team because she was a girl, she was thrilled to attend a school so spirited about another sport she enjoyed watching anyway. beside that, she didn't expect them to have a team for her in the first place, since softball just wasn't as big in japan as baseball.

this really did seem to be maiko's year though, because before school started she found an up-and-coming softball league nearby. she couldn't believe her luck. a real softball league that would play real games against other leagues in the prefecture! it definitely wouldn't attract the crowds that the high school baseball teams were pulling in, but it was enough for her. her years of waiting were coming to an end.

a soft wind pulled strands of her hair across her cheek and pulled her from her anxious, rambling thoughts. making friends this year was a priority. none of her middle school friends were going to seido, most went to inashiro. starting over would be tough, especially if she didn't put herself out there.

"pull yourself together! they can smell your anxiety" she chastised herself. this was no time to be getting cold feet. she was nearly to her class, 1-C, and first impressions were important.

"confidence. head high. no one will know you still sleep with a night light on. deep breaths. you're a bad bitch, right?"

cringing into herself she retracted her thoughts, "shit, i sound like a total loser!"

her nerves got the best of her, and when she reached the room she practically slammed the door open with a force you could expect from john cena. she kept her eyes downcast as a faint blush coated her cheeks in embarrassment.

"i'm such an idiot," her face felt warm as she scolded herself internally.

peering through her lashes, maiko scanned her eyes across the room quickly. avoiding the curious eyes of the classmates whose conversations she had interrupted, she singled out a seat in the middle row near the back of the class.

"this is a good seat right?" she sat down slowly, careful not to embarrass herself any further by tripping or falling backwards. "it doesn't call attention to itself, but it's in a spot where i could probably talk to a lot of people, i guess"

maiko was so preoccupied in her worries about her less than ideal entrance and her new seat that she hardly noticed when the class had filled up. by the time she realized all the desks were occupied, the class had started and she didn't have time to attempt a conversation with anyone.

she sighed tiredly to herself, "of course i blew my first impression."

if it wasn't softball, she just couldn't seem to handle herself the way she wanted. what else was new?