Stealing First

Chapter 13

Kuramochi dragged his feet up the stairs in the direction of class 2B. Morning practice has been especially brutal and his legs felt like lead. Yawning, he moved mechanically towards his seat, only noticing at the last second that it was already occupied.

'Oh, good morning Charlie.' The shortstop blinked hard, trying for a greeting that sounded more enthusiastic than his weary body felt at that moment.

'Morning, Mochi,' beamed Charlie, 'you look like hell.'

'Is that any way to talk to your senior?' Kuramochi slumped into the chair behind her, frowning moodily at her words.

'No, but it is the way I speak to my best friend?' The petite girl raised her eyebrows with an exaggerated smile, hoping to break her companion's bad mood. It worked.

'OK, OK. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?'

'Well, since I know you don't have afternoon training today, I was wondering if you might be free to hang out with me?''

'Yeah, sounds great. After this morning's hectic sprints session, I am looking forward to a quiet afternoon just bumming around.' He leaned against the wall, his eyes sliding closed as he relaxed.

'Well, actually...' He opened one eye, glaring suspiciously at her as she continued, 'I was hoping you would come shopping with me? I wouldn't ask, it's just that I don't know the shopping district very well and I thought you would have a good idea where the best sporting stores were.' She trailed off, looking sheepishly at her friend.

Kuramochi opened his eyes and dragged his body upright, considering her proposal. 'Alright then,' he huffed. He could never say no to Charlie, and she knew it.

'Thanks, Mochi!' she beamed, jumping up and giving him a quick hug. 'Meet me outside my class after school?'

'Sure, sure. See you then.' The olive-haired boy waved off her attentions, a blush rising up to colour his cheeks.

Charlie bent to grab her bag, ready to head to her own room and conscious of the impending bell. As she rose and moved towards the door, she felt her body stop abruptly, having run into another student. She quickly raised her head, already muttering an apology, 'Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't see-'

Her eyes met an intense golden stare, and she knew immediately who it was. She closed her eyes and let out a breath she hadn't realised she was holding. Seriously, she thought to herself, of all the people I could run into, it had to be him? Give me a break.

She sent her silent plea to the universe and tucked her hair behind her ear, looking up at the brunette catcher once more. 'Sorry Miyuki, I was in a hurry and didn't see you come in.'

He stood quiet for a moment, staring into her impossibly blue eyes as if in a trance. His hair was still damp from his shower, and he ruffled it self-consciously as he averted his gaze. 'It's fine, Charlie. It was just an accident, not like you were sitting in my seat or anything,' he replied, glancing pointedly at his teammate and using this fact as a neat distraction to avoid the temptation of looking back at Charlie.

'Ok, well I'll get going. See you this afternoon, Mochi.' The young first-year used the chance to shuffle awkwardly out of the room, giving a half wave over her shoulder as she went.

 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

As the members of class 1C left for the day, Haruno dragged a battered wooden step to the front of the room and began to clean the board. 'Are you OK to do the floors, Charlie?' she called over her shoulder. Charlie cursed herself, having forgotten that she and Haruno were on cleaning duty when she organised her afternoon shopping trip.