Stealing First

Chapter 15

Charlie stepped off the bus the next morning, her feet treading the familiar path to school, her hands idly twirling a rust coloured leaf she had plucked from a tree by the station entrance. She loved how the seasons were so distinct here - the colour of the spring blooms, clear bright summer days, moody leaves of autumn and the stark white of winter. Back home, they all just seemed to roll into one, and there was never a chance to reflect on the changing nature of the world around her. But here... Charlie sighed, laughing at herself for her overly poetic train of thought. 

Her encounter with Miyuki last week had, it seemed, left her with both a sentimental glow and about a hundred questions. No wonder she was distracted. With the team in the midst of the Fall Tournament, free time had been non-existent and Charlie hadn't had a chance to discuss with Miyuki what their conversation meant. She wondered if it was driving him as crazy as it was making her. But she was resolved to leave the next move up to him, when he was ready. If he was ready. She sighed, letting the leaf fall from her fingers to be swept across the school courtyard on an eddying breeze.

"Charlie!" A loud, familiar voice snapped her back to her senses. She looked up to see Sawamura jogging over to her, waving enthusiastically. The petite first-year chuckled quietly to herself. It seemed not even the intense training of tournament season was enough to dampen the energetic pitcher's spirits. She raised her hand, returning the greeting.

"Are you coming to our game this weekend? I mean, I know you have been part of our regular cheer squad for a while now, but you need to come and see me pitch against Seiko. I've got some new pitches I've been working on. Another step in my journey to being the ace." He puffed his chest out almost comically with the last statement, before turning to her, eyebrows raised in silent question.

"Of course, Sawamura. I wouldn't miss it," she smiled broadly at her friend. His energy really was infectious, and she could tell what an asset that kind of attitude would be to his team as well.

"Great," beamed Sawamura, as the two headed towards their classroom. In his usual erratic style, the bull-headed first year suddenly stopped, calling loudly to someone across the courtyard.

"Yo, Cap! Hey, wait up!" Sawamura began moving before Charlie had even looked up to see who he was hailing. Her eyes followed the line of Sawamura's dash and stopped when they landed on Miyuki. Her breath caught and she stopped mid-stride. So much was still left unsaid and uncertain between them and she wasn't sure whether she should walk towards him or run away. She saw him turn his head and look towards Sawamura, and her. Charlie saw Miyuki wince but wasn't sure if the expression was because of her or directed towards Sawamura and his irreverent behaviour. She decided that she wasn't brave enough to find out, and quickly made for the building entrance before she had a chance to confuse herself further.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

"Miyuki? Are you listening?" His science teacher called on him for the third time, having received no response from the normally attentive pupil. "Huh? Oh, sorry sensei," mumbled the second year, bowing his head slightly in apology. The teacher gave him a frustrated look before turning to ask another student for the answer. Miyuki huffed moodily, resting his head on the desk.

"Guess he isn't a baseball fan, huh?" Kuramochi elbowed his friend in the ribs, his lips pursed in sympathy. "You could do with an early night you know. Maybe I should tell Coach to ban you from looking at the playbooks tonight, so you can actually get some rest." The shortstop gave a self-satisfied nod at this solution to the Captain's apparently obvious problem.

Miyuki's head shot up at the suggestion. "No! You can't do that! I only have a few days to memorise the Seiko batting line-up statistics. The team is relying on me, Mochi." In truth, neither the weight of captaincy nor the arduous training sessions were to blame for Miyuki's lack of attention that morning. Charlie's abrupt exit this morning had sent his analytical mind into overdrive. With the team's crazy training schedule, he hadn't had a chance to see her since their dinner the other night, and he didn't want to discuss whatever 'they' were over text, so when their paths crossed this morning he had thought it might be a chance to talk.