Try Your Hardest | Ushijima Wakatoshi

Year 3: Part 1

It was an absolutely normal day.

Almost monotonously normal.

"Uta, do you need me to call the driver?" Tamako asked, watching her granddaughter finish preparing her lunch.

"No, I'm trying to get used to walking more now that I'm not on crutches!"

"It's a long walk dear, are you sure you won't get tired? That brace does not look easy to walk in..."

"It's fine Obaasan! I'm mostly used to it from walking around the house. It's just a little stiff, but it's not a big deal," Uta smiled reassuringly. It actually still hurts at times, but she doesn't want to have to rely on someone taking her and bringing her back from school. She figured she'll get used to it eventually.

That's not the only reason, however. Ever since someone started bringing her back and she could no longer stay for swim practice, her and Ushijima could no longer walk together. For the first time since her first year - counting out the few circumstances where they simply couldn't - Uta would walk home alone.

It wasn't only that. Being a captain of a powerhouse team wasn't any easy duty. He was sometimes busy during lunches and weekends, so they didn't always have the time to talk. Uta was proud of him regardless, but she would be lying if she said the feeling of them slowly drifting apart didn't make her sad.

She wondered if Ushijima felt the same, but shook the thought away, 'that's far too selfish of me to think.'

"Are you still upset about swimming?" her grandmother broke her out of her thoughts.

"I think I'm always going to be upset about that. A tiny accident ruined everything. Now I have to decide what else I wanna do in the future," she sighed.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that. You're a smart girl and you have so many options for the future. Everything happens for a reason, and perhaps this is just the very beginning something big for you!" she gave her a big smile, the small wrinkles on her face becoming more defined.

"Thank you, Obaasan. For everything."

"Thank you for making me the world's proudest grandma! Someone had to make up for my disappointment of a daughter!" Tamako burst out into laughter.

And soon, she was off to school at the time she normally was even if she didn't have practice. Waking up early was a good habit she liked to have and she would use that extra time to go to the library and study in the mornings. She was also a member of the gardening club, so she took the morning shift to water and clean the plants, it wasn't all that bad.

This routine was followed throughly everyday. It became the new normal. Today was no different. She would get to school, do what she has to do, come home with her grandmother and do more of what she has to do. She did it everyday, never missing out a single detail.

Uta was spacing out a little during class, doodling on her notebook and thinking about what her grandmother had told her.

What big thing could she have possibly meant? She had dreamed about swimming almost her whole life. Ever since she was small, swimming was the thing she was so passionate about, the only thing that helped her clear her mind when she was going through it.

It made sense, if she was good and passionate enough, that she would do it for the rest of her life. But now she had to wonder what else it was she had a passion for?

'Man this sucks,' she tapped her pencil.

And just as she was lost in an ocean of future possibilities, she was brought back to the shore of reality when she heard her name.