"Sora...Sora, i'm waiting for you, Sora..." whispered the voice. It belonged to someone female, that was for certain. But who?
Sora's eyes opened as she woke up from her dream. Then she glanced at the clock. She was almost late for soccer practice! She her red and white soccer uniform off the chair next to her dresser and threw it on the bed, quickly taking off her nightshirt to change. Minutes later, Sora was running down the stairs. Her mother was in the kitchen, looking at Sora angrily. "That's the third time this week, Sora! I don't really approve of your playing soccer, but the least you could do is be on time for practice!" Sora looked down. Why couldn't her mother let up on her a little bit?
"Well, I'm not late yet." Sora said, grabbing a bagel and running outside the door to the school practice field.
Sora came running to the field as fast as she could. They were already practicing on the field! She had to hurry!
"Coach!" she yelled, causing the middle-aged man to turn around.
"Coach, i'm here. Sorry I'm late." Sora apologized. The man looked at her disapprovingly, shaking his head.
"This is the third time, Takenouchi." he warned.
"I shouldn't be even letting you play, you know. The only reason I am is because Kamiya's out with a broken arm..." the coach lecturing, only to be interrupted by Sora, who asked if Kamiya was okay.
"He's fine. He'll miss a few games, it's nothing really to worry about. If you don't straighten up I'll have you put back into the girls' team." he warned Sora, with a look on his face telling her he was not going to change his mind about that. Sora nodded, going off to the field with the boys. Sora did not want to go back girls' team if there was any way to help it. Because she was good they'd transfer her to the boys' team, one of the happiest days of Sora's life. She couldn't stand being with the girls. All they did was talk about boys and makeup, they didn't really care about the game. Her team had been great before she moved to Odiaba.
At least Tai was here. Tai Kamiya had been her best friend since she was a little kid. She lived a few doors away from Tai and his family until they all moved to Odiaba. There had been some terroist bombings and so a lot of the families around the apartments where Sora lived moved away, including Tai's. But they did keep in touch by sending each other letters. Sora even got one from Tai's cute little sister Kari a while after she wasn't sick anymore. It was weird, she remembered, that Tai hadn't told why Kari was sick or that she even was.
Suddenly someone broke off her concentration. "The coach is being harder on you than usual, isn't he Takenouchi?" asked a boy. She looked up at the speaker, who turned out to be one of the new players on the team, a little kid named Koushirou Izumi. Everyone called him Izzy though.
He was super-smart and came up with a lot of their game plans. From what she'd heard, he was a computer nerd. But, she didn't know him that well. "Yeah, I guess he is..." Sora muttered in response. She didn't have time to talk right now, she had a lot to do. Although that dream was still in mind.
Sora slammed the door on her way in. She looked at the clock on the wall in front of her. 5:30. Mom wouldn't be home until eight. She sighed, tired. Her team had won the big championship game against the Wildcats. We probably wouldn't have won if it wasn't for Izzy's plan, she reminded herself. But as for right now she didn't care who had caused their victory. All the work she'd put into that game was catching up to her. She went into the kitchen, and got a little plate and cut up a sour apple for a snack later as she walked up to her room to get some sleep.
Sora's eyes fluttered open as she heard a car door close outside. Mom had come home from work. "Thank you, Jerry, for driving me home." Jerry? Sora thought, startled. She pulled away the curtains on her bedroom enough for her too peek outside. "It's no problem, Sarah. After all, you said you had to help your girl pack for summer camp. The faster you get home, the faster she's packed, right?" said a young man to her mother. Well, okay, he was in his early thirties like her mother, He had dark blonde hair and brown eyes. He was very handsome, even for an old guy. He seems nice. I wonder if he likes mom...Sora pondered that for a minute, then Jerry's words popped back into her head. "You said you were going to help her pack for summer camp, right?"
She'd forgotten. She was going to summer camp tomorrow.
"Summer Camp?" Why in the world was her mom sending her to summer camp for?
"Yes. I think you'll like it there. There'll be plenty of kids there for you to be friends with. I remember I met one of my best friends at summer camp."
"I don't want to meet any stupid kids! I don't care if they turn out to be my best friends ever -- because they won't be!!"
"Sora..." her mother put a hand on her shoulder. "I know it's been tough on you having Tai move. You guys were the best of friends, I know, but, things like that just happen sometimes."
Sora didn't even look at her mother. She didn't know what it was like at all. But, then again, the same thing happened between her and dad...sort of. Dad was a jerk, though. He had walked out on mom when Sora was seven, saying he didn't want to be with his joke of wife and his faggot daughter. Maybe she was right. Maybe Sora would like summer camp.
"Mom...you went to a summer camp?"
Sora waited to hear her mother come in before she went downstairs. She didn't get to. She could hear Mom walking upstairs.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.
"Mom? You're home?"
Sora pretended to be suprised.
"Yes, Sora. Can I come in?"
"Sure Mom."
Sarah Takenouchi walked inside the room of her daughter. It was a neat, tidy room. The bed was unmade, however. Its pale yellow thick cotton blanket that she had bought two years ago was on the side, the blue-and-white sky sheets followed suit. Her outfit for tomorrow was hung on a blue-cushioned wicker chair. A grass green tanktop and blue jeans. The walls were a pale yellow, the same color as Sora's sheets. The curtains on her room were a blue-checkered pattern. All in all, it was a nice, tidy, quiet, peaceful room. Unbeknownst to her or her or her daughter, this would be the room in which Sora received her first kiss, overhear a conversation that would change her life and where she would agree to be the Maid of Honor for two of her best friends.
"Sora, I just want to make sure, while I still have the time to pull you out...are you sure?" Sarah asked her daughter.
"Sure of what? Going to camp?" Sora asked her mother, a hint of worry in her voice.
"Yes, Sora." Sora thought it over. What could she lose by going to camp? It wasn't like she knew anyone there. But she did have a lot to gain. She could get great friends and all out of this.
"Yes, Mom. I'm totally sure."
"All right then. Let's get packing."
Sora stood outside with her mother waiting for the bus. The bus that would come and take her to summer camp. She felt very content, though she didn't know why. Like everything was going to be okay from now on. Sora was pulled out of her happy stupor as she felt her mother place her hand on her shoulder.
"Sora, I want you to know...Oh! There's your bus! Hurry!" Her mother pushed her to go on, but Sora looked back before she boarded the bus.
"You what, Mom?" she asked.
"I love you Sora." her mother told her.
Sora smiled as she got on the bus and sat by the one person she did recognize -- Izzy.
"Hello Takenouchi."
"Hi Izzy." she sat down on the empty seat next to him, then, she heard that same voice that had been in her dreams all week, the same feminine voice.
Sora, I've been waiting for you. Sora, i'm waiting...
She looked past Izzy out the window.
I know. she thought to herself, hoping that whatever it was could hear her.
I'm coming. You won't have to wait much longer.
I hope you liked it, and if you did please review it! It will help we wrote if I get lots and lots of reviews! ^_^ If you didn't like it...=P. Tough. Don't review. And by the way, did you figure out who the voice was?