𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 {𝐔𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐚 𝐱 𝐅𝐞𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫}

Chapter 4: Cafeteria Questionnaire

*Your POV*

It took a while to find the cafeteria, so the line was already quite long, but this gave me time to figure out what I wanted to eat. I finally picked something out before paying and thanking the staff member.

I looked out over the vast sea of students, all of them in their own designated cliques. The anxiety was overwhelming, so I was heading towards the courtyard to read in peace, but I was apprehended when someone called out to me.

"Y/n! Over here!"

I turned my attention to the voice. Of course it was the clown.

"Come sit with us!"

He wagged his hand, and I hesitantly changed directions. He scooted over and patted the bench below, so I set my lunch down and silently reminded myself to be cool.

"Hey." I said with a relaxed smile.

"This is the volleyball team." He gestured with the nod of his head.

"Do you remember any of the guys from when you dropped off Coach's bag?" He added.

I scanned over their faces and landed on the one who commented on my butt back when I was leaving the gym. He must've remembered as well because he lowered his eyes in embarrassment.

"Yeah, kind of." I replied, raising an eyebrow, somewhat amused by his shame.

"Well? What are you guys waiting for? Introduce yourselves!" Tendou commanded.

They went in a circle giving their names. One of them caught my attention. It was a girl. I was relieved not to be the only one. It came to be her turn.

"I'm Namika Uchida, the team's manager." She grinned amiably.

I reflected her, and the names continued until the end.

"You should tell us about yourself, y/n." Shirabu suggested.

"Yeah, we don't know anything about you." Goshiki agreed.

I blinked, taken aback at the sudden curiosity.

"My mom and I moved here from Yamagata because she received a job offer. We're living with my uncle, your coach, until she finds a house. My favorite color is f/c, and my favorite animal is f/a. Some of my hobbies include *hobbies.* I also make and sell jewelry for side cash."

I swept my hair to the side and revealed my earrings of silver metal and chains.

"Woah, those are really cool! You should make me some." Semi suggested with admiration.

"Thanks, if you ever actually want any, I'd be happy to whip them up. Anyway, those are the first things that come to mind. I'm an open book. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Got a boyfriend?" Semi asked with a smirk.

I didn't, but I wasn't sure how to answer without giving this boy a free invitation.

I settled for, "No, never have."

"You hear that Semi? She doesn't have any standards for you to lower." Kawanishi joked insultingly.

Semi elbowed him but laughed.

"Now that we're done hitting on the new girl, why don't we talk about something of substance." Uchida suggested with slight annoyance in her tone.

"Ushijima, have you mastered that spike I taught you?" She asked him.

I'd nearly forgotten the boy was there. He'd been silent since I showed up.

"Yes." He said shortly.

"Wonderful! Why don't you show me later. We can do it after practice so nobody will be in the way."

"During practice is fine. They won't be in the way."

"Are you sure? We could get some solo hits in if you want."

She had the same smile as earlier, but it seemed almost forced now.

"I'll show you during practice." He said with finality.

Her expression dropped for a moment, but she quickly regained composure.

"Sounds good."

She seemed a little disappointed, but she hid it well.

The remaining ten minutes of lunch were filled with questions revolving around me. With each one, Uchida's face turned more sour. Being bold as I am, I asked about it.

"Uchida, are you okay? You look uneasy."

She snapped out of it in time to replace her faint scowl before the rest of the table could turn their attention.

"Me? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I guess I was just wondering what a beautiful girl like you is doing here at the table of a bunch of volleyball guys."

She was obviously irritated. It wasn't as covert as before.

I wasn't interested in a territorial challenge, but I surely wasn't going to shy away from an opportunity to demonstrate my security.

"I was planning on reading in the courtyard, but Tendou called me over as you heard, and I'm not one to deny a kindly offered seat. Does my presence bother you?" I questioned calmly.

"Oh no, of course not! I just think someone such as yourself would be more comfortable away from these knuckleheads."

She put a hand on the shoulder of Kawanishi who sat next to her as if to mark him. I smiled just a bit.

"I'm not sure what sort of someone you take me for, but I can assure you that I've been given no reason to feel uncomfortable here."

I initiated a staring contest, a weightless measure of dominance. She wasn't breaking, but she was furrowing her brows while I remained at ease.

A slight tilt of my head as if to ask, "Are you done yet?" was enough to cause her to avert her gaze. I'd won this time, but it didn't feel like whatever this was had been resolved. Either way, she now knew now that I wasn't the type to back down.

"Alright guys, I'm off to chat with my teacher before next hour starts. See you later." I told everyone while climbing out of the space between the bench and the table. I waved and turned a corner out of sight.

*Narrator's POV*

There was tension looming. The boys were all perturbed and unsure what to make of the past minute, but they had to admit, it was more entertaining than chit-chat about digs and hits.

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