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The day of the match is finally here.
I sit up in bed, the pale sunlight strewing in through the slits of my blinds. I scrunch up my face and rub at my eyes to help myself wake up, and soon enough, I gather the energy to hop out of bed.
As I get ready for school, I have momentary lapses of misunderstanding, wondering why I'm putting on my uniform, getting my bag ready, and all of the other things that come with preparing for school when I'm going to watch their match. Each time it happens, it doesn't take long for a sinking feeling in my stomach to occur as I realize that that's not happening. Each time, I snap out of it by shaking my head, only for the cycle to repeat.
As usual, I stare at myself in the mirror, picking out any inconsistencies in my appearance before heading downstairs.
"Good morning," Mom says cheerily as I drop my backpack at the front door and sit at the table where breakfast already lies.
"Good morning," I respond, taking a utensil and poking around the bowl. Maybe I can still find a way to get there. I'd have to call Anika and tell her that I still want to go, but then what? I'm back at square one.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Mom says, and I look up at her. She stares intently at my full bowl, which would have been half-eaten by now if I didn't have anything on my mind.
"Um, nothing really," I respond lazily.
"Oh, I know what's on your mind," Mom says with a laugh. "You're worried about your friends' match, huh?"
"Yeah, that's it," I say with a quiet laugh. Hearing her call them my friends, I start to realize that I haven't yet told her about me and Asahi. But that's just another thing to worry about, and I'm happy to put it at the back of my mind to deal with later. I start to eat the food in front of me, my mind still fixating on thinking of any possible ways to get to the game.
