Chapter 1- Wishing
It was a beautiful Monday afternoon, and school had just dismissed. Normally, I couldn't be any happier to leave, but today, I wished I could redo the entire day. Okay, so for once I got up on time and caught the bus, which had never happened before today, even though school had only started eleven days ago. But, in seventh period language arts, my favorite teacher Ms. Westly had found it in her kind heart to confiscate my fourteenth volume of The Prince of Tennis. Not only was it my favorite volume, but it had the most of my absolute favorite character- the Seigaku Tennis Team captain Kunimitsu Tezuka.
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat- I am obsessed with Kunimitsu, and am probably his number one fan girl. My entire room is covered with something Prince of Tennis related; more often than not it's related to Kunimitsu. I have read and reread every volume to a point where I can recite the dialogue from memory.
"How was school, dear?" Mom asked as I let myself into the house via the back door. I threw my backpack down in a huff, seething.
"Not well, as I'm sure you can see." I replied curtly, sifting through my backpack to retrieve volume ten, which I had also brought with me to school. I was too pissed with Ms. Westly to care if I sounded like a witch. That good-for-nothing teacher had no right to take away my manga, threaten to hold onto until the end of the year, and let me know that if I didn't watch myself, she would ban me from the upcoming tennis team tryouts out Long View High School. So far, I hated the ninth grade the most, and I haven't even been going for an entire month yet.
"You know, Ms. Westly called earlier, Ace." Mom informed me, and I rolled my eyes. Was that stupid teacher trying to make me hate her? It was working. "And she told me that you weren't paying attention and that she took that comic book away."
"Manga," I corrected Mom immediately.
"I think you need to stop reading those books, Ace. You're barely the same little girl you used to be. You used to love school, and really care about your grades. Now, you just don't care, and it's those books' fault. I have to wonder if you even live in reality anymore, Ace. The other kids are going to tease you." Mom warned.
The other kids already teased me, and honestly, there was nothing too great about this reality. I felt out of place. Barely any of the other kids in school even knew what anime and manga was, and that was all I cared about. And to stop reading The Prince of Tennis? Now that was impossible. I could feel my temper rising. Why couldn't she just accept my love of The Prince of Tennis?
"The other kids won't matter in five years, because I'll be in Japan then." I replied carefully.
"Your father and I are going to have to take those comic books away then." Mom stated firmly, finalizing it. I felt my jaw drop. What?
I felt tears well up in my eyes. I hated my family, and I hated this reality. The Prince of Tennis was my only consolation, Kunimitsu was my only consolation, and they were tearing it and him from me. "You know what? I hate this reality, and all of the people in it!" I screamed, turning away from Mom and running into my room, collapsing onto my bed, sobbing. Why did they insist on making me miserable?
That night, I was having trouble sleeping. I was plagued by dreams in which I woke from drenched in a cold sweat with no memory of why I was so frightened. The prospect of living without The Prince of Tennis was enough to scare the living daylights out of me, and I had a hunch that it had something to do with my dreams that night.
Outside my window, the world was draped in the cool blue-white light of the full moon. My entire life I had loved the night. For some reason, I felt at peace. It was unexplainable. Next to the moon, a star twinkled and streaked across the night sky.
For a moment, it didn't matter that I was fourteen. I found myself making a wish. I couldn't help myself. "I wish… I wish I could just leave here and live in Japan with the current Seigaku team, especially Kunimitsu." I knew I sounded like a fool, but I wasn't sure how I would survive here without The Prince of Tennis. Somehow, I managed to fall back asleep.
"Ace…" A sweet, melodic voice floated through my mind, piercing the nightmare that was plaguing me. "Ace…" Who was calling for me at this time of night? I had few friends, and the ones I did have would have the decency to wait until morning to talk to me.
"Who's there?" I heard myself call out. I was surrounded by darkness, and I couldn't see anyone, or anything. The voice sounded like it was coming from right near me, too.
"Keep walking, Ace." The voice instructed, and robotically, I did as I was told, stumbling forward without a light and a guide. "You're getting closer." Closer? But to what?
I hit something with my foot, and stooping down, I picked up, attempting to figure out what it was. It seemed to be a key of some sort, but without light all I could do was guess. "You have suffered long, Ace. Your wish has been granted." Alarms went off in my mind. How did this person know about my wish? And why was it being granted? How would I know this all wasn't some nasty trick?
A flash of white light blinded me, and I shielded my eyes. When I opened them again, I was lying sideways in bed, with the sun streaming in my eyes. I let out a long, whistling sigh. It had been nothing more than a dream. Here I was, still in Long View, New Jersey, dreading the next day of my miserable existence. It had been a nice dream while it had lasted, though.
"Oh, good morning, Ace-chan." A voice that sounded peculiarly similar to Sakuno Ryuzaki's rang out. I sat up quickly, getting a head rush. What was going on? Sakuno poked her head into my room, smiling timidly.
"We have school soon. I know I didn't have time to explain much when you arrived with Aunt Marie last night, but I have girl's tennis practice this morning." She hesitated for a moment. "You know, I feel really bad for you. Aunt Marie had no right to abandon you here like that. I never knew she was that mean." I stared blankly at Sakuno, gaping at her. What the hell was going on? Who was Aunt Marie? And most of all, what was Sakuno doing in my room?
"Hey Sakuno, how's your favorite cousin doing?" Sumire Ryuzaki, the tennis team coach, came into the room, led by Sakuno.
"Ace is fine. I think she's still a bit stunned about getting to come, though. Remember, Aunt Marie didn't want her to." Sakuno reminded her grandmother, who nodded.
"My niece always was a stubborn one." Shaking her head, she added, "Come down for breakfast in a minute." Sakuno nodded, and her grandmother left, Sakuno following her. So this meant that I was Sakuno's cousin, meaning that my wish really had been granted!
Feeling energized at the idea of getting to meet the cast of Prince of Tennis in person, I quickly changed into my Seishun uniform, which was folded neatly on the desk. Sakuno was already eating breakfast when I came downstairs, and Sumire was making herself a lunch.
Eating the delicious pancakes supplied by Sakuno was no problem at all. I was able to down two large sized ones before Sumire beeped the horn of her car, signaling that Sakuno and I needed to get moving.
"I think you'll like it at Seishun, Ace-chan. You can even join the girl's tennis team like I did." Sakuno babbled, and I followed her, nodding, dimly registering that I was more comfortable with her right now than I had ever been back in Long View.
"I'll introduce you to this guy I really like. His name is Ryoma Echizen." Sakuno said, smiling broadly. So she did like Ryoma! "Unfortunately, my best friend Tomo likes him too. I can't compete with her though." Sakuno sighed. I patted her shoulder as she adjusted her shoes.
"Just because Tomo likes Ryoma doesn't mean Ryoma can't like you." I pointed out, feeling as though I should at least attempt to make Sakuno feel better about her situation. Sakuno smiled.
"This is why you're my favorite cousin, Ace-chan. You always know what to say!" She said, pulling me into the backseat of her grandmother's car.
"So Ace, you're in ninth grade, right?" Sumire asked, moving the mirror so she could see me. I nodded. "Most of the regulars on the boy's team are in ninth grade too. You still like tennis, right?"
"Of course," I replied quickly.
"Well, I think you'll get along with most of them. What class number are you in? It should be in this packet." Sumire passed a thick manila envelope to me that had been sitting in the passenger seat. I flipped through it, hoping I would be in the same class as Kunimitsu. That would be awesome! It really would be a dream come true to be in his class.
"It says I'm in class one." My eyes widened. I was in the same class as Kunimitsu! Sumire sighed.
"I don't think Kunimitsu-kun will be all that welcoming. He's the captain of the boy's team, and tends to keep to himself." Sumire informed me.
"Hey, maybe Ace-chan can break his vow of silence." Sakuno elbowed me teasingly, and I felt myself blush. "Wouldn't that be funny, Grandma?" Sumire said nothing as she parked the car in the lot.
"Hop out, girls. We have practice to get to. Why don't you come with me, Ace, and we'll get you a slip to join the girl's team? You can wait with me while I coach the boys." I nodded eagerly. I was excited to finally get to meet Kunimitsu, but at the same time I was so damn nervous!
"Thanks, Ryuzaki-san." I bowed, feeling I should be polite for the huge favor Sumire was doing me. She laughed, patting my shoulder.
"You've always been so polite, Ace." Sumire told me kindly. Within minutes, she managed to get me a form for the girl's team, even though I had already missed the deadline, and we were heading to the boy's courts.
My excitement was growing. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to meet Kunimitsu. I had been worshipping him for close to a year and had dreamed about this happening one day.
Yet at the same time, I was growing nervous. Would Kunimitsu think I was weird? Would he think I was just another annoying girl? Was it even possible that he could like me? What would I do if he decided he didn't like me?
As soon as the courts came into view, Kunimitsu was the first one I saw. He and the rest of the regulars were warming up with ground stroke drills. I felt myself blush. "Well, it seems our little Ace has a thing for Seigaku's top player, eh?" Sumire said teasingly. I said nothing, but instead blushed a deeper shade of brick red.
When Sumire entered the courts, the entire team paused and bowed. "Good morning, boys. Sorry I was a little late. Sakuno's cousin Ace is transferring here and I helped her get ready." Sumire smiled to me. I waved to the team meekly, feeling increasingly stupid. I noticed that Kunimitsu didn't look to see who I was. Disappointment and relief flooded through me. I felt stupid that I had needed help to get ready to go to Seishun Gakuen. How different could Japanese school really be from how it was in New Jersey? I did want Kunimitsu to notice me, though. I wasn't sure how I was going to do that. I had no exceptional talent, other than tennis, and Kunimitsu easily surpassed me in that.
A few of the boys waved back to me, including Eiji Kikumaru, one of the regulars, who immediately got a nasty stare from Kunimitsu.
"Alright, let's keep up the ground strokes." Clapping her hands, the team returned to their ground stroke practice.
Kunimitsu wanted nothing to do with anyone who wasn't on the boy's tennis team. To grab his attention, I had my work cut out for me.
A/N: Sorry the first chapter's kind of boring. I really don't like writing the first chapter because mine come out extremely boring. Anyway, stick around for Chapter 2; I promise it will be much better! Please R&R! KLS