𝒔𝒘𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 | 𝒐. 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒓𝒖

𝒊𝒇 𝒊'𝒎 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕

"Hello?" you answer your phone.

"F/n, it's Dad and me," your mom says through the phone.

"Oh, how have you and dad been? How's work in Singapore?" you ask.

"We're fine and work's fine. How are your grades?"

You frown at your mom's response and immediate question.

"It's fine; all A's," you respond with a monotone voice.

"Good. Have you been applying for scholarships and are you still number one in your class?"

"Yes. I have applied for some scholarships and yes, I am still number one in my class."

"Apply for a lot, F/n and are you doing any club activities?" your dad asks through the phone.

"Okay, I will. I'm currently in the book clu--"

"You're still in that club? Get out of that club and do something else. Schools will know that you are already smart by your grades, but you need to have something on your resume that shows that you can do other things besides being a book worm! You need to make sure you are the best of the best, F/n or else, the best colleges won't choose you," your dad lectures you as usual. Feeling your heart drop, your hands start to shake. Before you can reply back, your parents interrupt you.

"We have to get going to a meeting, F/n. Not sure when we'll come back home, but make sure you do those things we told you to do. Bye," your mom bids before hanging up on you.

Dropping to the floor, you just sit there for a while--in deep thought.

'I guess the idea of ever wanting to become a writer and literature teacher is just going to go down the drain,' you say to yourself as you think back about your phone call with your parents earlier.

It had been like that since your first year of middle school. Your parents would have to leave and go around the globe for work as you would stay with your grandparents until you reached your first year of high school. Being the understanding child you were, you tried your best in school and listened to every word your parents said, knowing how hard they were working for you. However, their expectations kept growing with your age. Even though they were not doctors but owners of a popular television program, they wanted you to pursue a career as a doctor. You had planned since your first year of high school to pursue literature and thought that your parents would eventually allow you to if you were a good kid; however, you were obviously wrong.

Irritated with yourself, you decide to go out for a walk.

-

The ball hits the floor harshly for the hundredth time as Oikawa pants heavily. He grabs another ball from the basket and tries to serve again as it lands out of bounds.

"UGH!" Oikawa lets out a loud groan, "Why can't I hit that water bottle?!?!"

"Go home, Oikawa!" Iwaizumi suddenly appears through the door, already changed into his uniform.

"Yeah, in a little bit," Oikawa pants and is about to grab another ball until Iwaizumi throws a ball at his head which causes Oikawa to lose his balance. "That was so rude, Iwa-chan!!"

"Just go home already and stop overworking yourself! It doesn't help with anything if you injure yourself."

"But if I can't perfect my serves, I won't be able to—"

"Stop with your constant selfishness! It's so narcissistic! Go home and stop acting like a kid!"

With Iwaizumi's stubbornness and comebacks, Oikawa finally cleans up, changes and leaves. He would usually leave with Iwaizumi, but Iwaizumi had to leave early that night. As he is walking alone, he notices a familiar figure and his expression lightens up.

"Ume-chan! What are you doing here?" Oikawa happily asks and runs up to the girl.

At the sight of Oikawa, a frown appears on her lips.

"Going home, duh."

Oikawa winces at the harsh tone but easily shrugs it off.

"Want me to walk you home, perhaps?" he flirts. As Hime opens her mouth to reject him, a voice speaks.

"Oikawa?"

The two look to the voice to see Ushijima and Oikawa's expression immediately darkens.

"What are you doing here, Ushiwaka?" Oikawa asks in an annoyed voice.

"I was just here to pick up, Hime-san," Ushijima answers as Hime happily skips to Ushijima.

"Hi, Ushijima-kun! Sorry, did I take too long?" Hime asks in a sweet voice which surprises Oikawa. She never spoke to him like that. It was also so cold and harsh. Ushijima shakes his head then looks up to Oikawa.

"It was nice seeing you Oikawa. I will see you at InterHigh," Ushijima politely bids goodbye. As the two are about to walk away from him, Oikawa grabs onto Hime's wrist.

"W-why are you going with him?" Oikawa asks.

Hime gives him an annoyed glare.

"He's taking me home, obviously," Hime answers and tries to pull her wrist out of his grasp but fails.

"D-do you like him?" Oikawa hesitantly asks her. Thankfully, it is low enough for only Hime to hear causing her to blush.

"W-what does that have to do with yo—"

"Do you??" Oikawa asks again, desperately.

Annoyed, Hime answers, "Yes I do! Now leave me alone."

Shocked by her answer, Hime is able to escape his grasp and walks away with Ushijima, leaving Oikawa to stand there in shock. Once again, it feels like he has lost against his ultimate rival—but was he even considered a rival anymore?

Oikawa has never won against Ushijima and to him, it was like he was just a silly pawn who can easily be taken down by the powerful queen, Ushijima. Irritated, Oikawa decides to take a detour instead of heading straight home.

As you and Oikawa are walking around the neighborhood, both are deep in thought. Neither of you are paying attention to where you guys are going and allow your guys' feet to move on its own.

'Will someone ever completely love me even if I'm not the best?' you and Oikawa ask yourselves.

Just like that, you both harshly bump into each other leading you both to land on the cement.

"Ouch," you groan and rub your head. Looking straight ahead of you, you see Oikawa with an irritated look. "Oh, Oikawa-san." Oikawa looks up to surprisingly see you. He quickly gets up and offers you a hand.

"Sorry, F/n-chan," he says with an emotionless face. This kind of reaction was different from him, but you shrug it off and take his hand.

"It's okay."

"Well, I'm off. See you on Monday." He shoves his hands into his pockets and walks past you. Once he's gone, you sigh and look at the moon.

'Am I already not good enough?'

Date: 12 June 2020