Toshiko (T.J.) Jackson is a first year transfer from the U.S. Now living in her father's home in Miyagi. She's been playing volleyball since a young age, it's her greatest happiness and her greatest talent. Despite the challenges of being a new stud...
"What do you mean there's no volleyball practice here?" I panted, trying to catch my breath as I looked around the gym. There wasn't a volleyball net in sight, and no sign of my teammates for that matter.
Shit I'm gonna be late to practice, I already spent too much time trying to find that ginger kid to talk to him, I thought he'd be in homeroom when all the classes were over! I haven't even changed yet.
"This gym is currently being used for other school activities, so for the foreseeable future all volleyball activities are in the secondary gym." Said a faculty member, I bowed and thanked her after she pointed me in the right direction to the other gym. When she was out of sight, I ran as fast as I could to the opposite side of the building. In the hallway leading to the gym, I nearly ran into an obnoxiously tall blond with his friend in tow.
"I'm really sorry!" While still moving forward I yelled my apology by turning in a half-circle before taking off again. The tall guy looked irked.
Damn, this is familiar. Now I'm the tangerine.
I burst through a door that led to an outside walk way, the squeaking of shoes and the familiar smack of volleyballs on hardwood made my chest fill with unbearable excitement; the gym was right there in my sights.
Finally... finally!!
My foot crossed the threshold, I took a deep breath and scanned the gym for my teammates, cheeks flushed from excitement and running all the way across the school. Something wasn't right.
What the hell? Why is there only guys here?! Where the hell is Yui?"
I became distracted while surveying the room for my captain, when all the guys shouted at me for incoming danger. However, in that moment, I already saw the ball coming. In a split second I moved my body into near-perfect receiving form; and the insanely powerful serve exploded off my forearms and soared right back to the middle of the court.
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I clicked my tongue to myself and whispered "*Damn, not quite to the setter's position. Ha...Time to mess with these guys*..." I whipped around to face the opposing court. "*Hey*, who served that ball at me?"
The guys in the gym were silent, shocked at the events that just transpired in front of them. Only one boy moved, a tall guy with sleek black hair and pale skin behind the serving line raised his hand. His dark eyes being just as observing as my own. Like predators trying to find out which was the prey. I took a mental note of his features and concluded that he was quite attractive, nonetheless I wasn't flustered by his serve. I always worked hard to stay on the court and feared no opponent. Hot or not.
He finally spoke, "I served it, although I didn't purposefully aim it at you." His voice was clear and deep. "That part was an accident." I heard one of his teammates begin to chastise him, however I started walking that way, causing more silence; buzzing anticipation filled the air.
As I got closer I sized him up and he took a slight step back. Only a few seconds of eye contact passed before I broke my facade and smiled at him with a thumbs up. "Nice serve!" I said with a laugh. The laughter seemed to ease his nerves a little as he softened his features to show more indifference, and he thanked me with formal vocabulary.
He seems polite.
"Excuse me," Another deep voice chimed in from behind. I turned to face a strong looking individual, he definitely gave off an air of seniority. He ran a hand through his cropped dark hair, smiling at me in a way that said 'I'm confused about what's going on, but I apologize for my teammate.' "May I ask why you're here? We're about to start practice." I couldn't stop the visible disappointment and warm blush that crawled across my cheeks.
"Oh no... is this the wrong place?" I looked anywhere but his eyes as I spoke. All the boys watching that go down made things worse. "I thought this was the only other gym. I'm sorry to intrude I was just-"
"Toshiiiii!" A voice wailed from the opposite side of the gym. I turned to see the girl's volleyball club emerging from the entrance, and Yui was coming at me full speed! Both my hands raised in front of me to prepare for impact, and she nearly knocked me over as she slammed both her hands on my shoulders and bowed at the same time. "I'm so sorry! I totally forgot to tell you where to find us earlier. I'll try to be more responsible!" Now, my face felt like it was under the burning sun.
What's up with everyone's embarrassing apologies today?
The guy who was previously talking chuckled when he put two and two together. "Ah, so you're on the girl's team?" I smiled softly at him and nodded, still being weighed down by my apologetic captain. "Well, I suppose I should've guessed with a serve receive like that. New student, huh? Michimiya, you forgot to tell her about the gym change?"
"Gym change?" I questioned. "Michi, what's going on?" The guy tilted his head and cocked an eyebrow at me, while some of the girls club members eyes widened.
What's with the looks? Was it something I said...?
Oh right, the upperclassman thing.
"Ah sorry, I mean... Michimiya...senpai?"
"Don't worry about that. Anyway, I was approached by student council and faculty members on the first day of school, apparently the other gym has to be used for other school stuff during this time because it's the only place big enough. So, I talked to Sawamura and made an arrangement." I raised my eyebrows at this "Sawamura" expectantly for more details.
"The arrangement," He began with a warm grin. "Allows you girls to still practice after school, as that is the best time-frame for your team according to your captain. The girls have been sharing the gym with us, the boy's volleyball club. Takeda was apart of the discussion, and he says it helps him keep track of both teams, so it all seems to work out." Crossing his arms as he finished the explanation.
My face was blank, expressionless, not exactly sure how to feel about having to share a gym for practice. It wasn't the biggest to begin with and there was only one net set up. How were we supposed to split the gym like this? Yui squeezed my hands, causing me to look into her eyes. With just a look it was like she was begging me not to leave. She then spoke with enthusiasm. "Please hurry and get changed, then I'll help you warm up before we start the match." My heart leapt at the word.
"Match?" I said, louder than I meant to, but my excitement could hardly be contained.
"Yes." A new voice chimed in, softer than the other two boys. Someone with striking gray hair approached our group smiling at me, causing my stomach to tighten.
Man, I wish my hair looked more like that... my dark roots make the rest of my hair look too dull and mousy. Thanks for the weird hair dad.
"Both clubs have been doing drills and the like to practice together, and the captains decided today would be a fun idea to try and have a split-team match to get everyone more acquainted. We are gonna be spending a lot of time together after all." The way his voice sounded was strangely soothing, and because of that I couldn't help but hang onto his every word.
"O-okay. I'll hurry then!" I exclaimed as I shot him a smile and clapped Yui on the shoulder. As a way to reassure her that I wasn't going to change my mind about joining the team.
I've waited too long for this team to quit because of some weird practice arrangement. Besides, playing with the guys should make the girls team much stronger.
~Notes from author~ The awaited scene of the match is up next! Fair warning, it's a longer chapter, due to the nature of writing game details. It's all a process. Please enjoy! :)
