"It is the story of how one miraculous girl is miraculously friend with almost all of the middle-school tennis players."
It always amaze me whenever I stumble upon fics that had the main character knowing every tennis players out there for some sort of magical reason that was left unknown. And so, I got an idea of writing this small conversation between two friends of how great one of the two's social skill is.
Only some random one-shot I wrote, so I didn't bother to give the main character a name.
"I still don't understand how you manage to befriend with almost all of the middle school tennis players."
She smirked, feeling content of her little achievement that made her friend gape in amazement, "The world is such a small place after all."
"And you prove that right," he shrugged at his reluctant admittance, "how the hell do you know that Atobe anyway? He's a freakin' celebrity, and you're like, who?"
"I'm like, the heiress of that super rich estate company? Yeah, I got it."
"Well that explains a lot," he shrugged again, "then how about that Saeki from Rokkaku? Don't tell me that your grandfather sells peanut or something." (Chiba's forte is peanut. Seventy-eight percent of Japan's peanut production came from Chiba, as it was cited in Wikipedia.)
"As a matter of fact, yeah. Just that my grandpa from my mother sold other agricultural products as well, that's why he's rich," she explained, feeling proud that her family was actually pretty cool, "I occasionally came by my grandpa's place in Chiba since I was a kid."
"The reason why you're like bff with Fuji-senpai," he nodded to himself after coming to a late realization, "I still have no idea why Buchou is so familiar with you, though."
"Don't you know that I have this severe asthma that makes me go in and out of the hospital? You're so stupid," she sighed, taking in her friend's cluelessness despite the fact that they were actually quite close, "Tezuka, along with Yukimura and Tachibana are like the Hospital Trio you know. But I'm not that close with the older Tachibana, just the younger one."
"Wait, you also know Yukimura and Tachibana?" he gawked in disbelief.
"Yeah… you don't know that? How suck can you be. In fact, I'm actually kind of close with Yukimura and the younger Tachibana," informed her smugly, boasting her social advances, "well? You can ask me more questions."
He was left in thought, muttering some names while counting it with his fingers, "Oshitari… You probably know him from Atobe. Who else," he pondered to himself, and then perked up with a brightened face not long after, "What about the other Oshitari?" he asked excitedly, waiting for another interesting story she would tell.
"You mean Kenya?" she confirmed and received a nod instantly, "that leads back to how I met Shiraishi, and yeah I know him so you just shut up," she received another understanding nod from the other person and preceded her to go on.
"So, Shiraishi's dad is some sort of herbal pharmacist and my grandpa is somehow a long-time customer of his. When I was still in elementary school, for some random reason my grandpa told me to study about herbal medicines, and he took me to Shiraishi's dad for some useful education. Well, this and that and I ended up with Shiraishi to study about plants together. How cool is that?
"Anyway, I learnt that there was this poisonous plant that could cause you a little pain, and I tried to gently force it down Shiraishi's throat," he winced a bit hearing that, more afraid that he could actually picture the scene perfectly in his mind, "and out of nowhere, Oshitari Kenya barged into Shiraishi's room and saved him!
"But, I can't really say he saved him since he was more concerned about me tainting the name of all females in the world, lecturing me how girls should be nice and innocent."
He could only stare in awe at the fateful encounter she had, "…And that's how you met Shiraishi and Oshitari at the same time?"
"Yeah, the two Oshitari actually. I think there was also Oshitari Yuushi there, so I didn't know him from Atobe. But I'm not quite sure. He's kinda…forgettable."
"Oshitari Yuushi is not forgettable. He's like, the second chick magnet in Hyoutei if not for Atobe."
"I know, I know," she murmured, trying to get the point she wanted to say, "It's just… I just didn't notice him, okay. The only thing I remember was he staring our quarrel in amusement. It's kinda creepy I guess. He's sort of like Fuji."
"Is there some unspoken rule for geniuses to be creepy?" he muttered sarcastically, agreeing that both geniuses were creepy in their own way.
"Probably," she shrugged slightly at the ridiculous veracity, "and that leads me to know the rest of Shitenhouji's regulars since I'm now quite close with Shiraishi. Not to mention, I still came by to Osaka with my grandpa. He's kinda close with Shiraishi's dad and I am there to accompany him of his visit."
"How about Fudomine's regulars?"
"You know how Ann is so proud of her school's regulars, so of course she'd introduce me to them at some point. I pretty much know them now."
"And Rikkai…" he contemplated about it for a while longer, "you know them from Yukimura?"
"No, actually," she smirked before continuing her sentence, "I met Kirihara way before I met Yukimura. It was during his first year when he was beaten by the so-called three demons of Rikkai and sulked to the arcade. Well, I was there and beat him up in a game pretty badly. Since he was already frustrated… he went on a rampage, but Marui and Kuwahara managed to stop him. That's when I met Marui and Kuwahara also.
"Basically, that day was the day he swore to beat those three and… me. I pity him, actually, being beaten four times straight in a day like that. Not to mention how many times I beat him in different kind of games," she sighed while twitching up her lips slightly in reminiscence, "but I'm glad I met him. He's a good kid."
"Kirihara Akaya is a good kid?" he scoffed feeling bemused by her statement, "you know how he sent Tachibana to the hospital."
"That's why I'm glad I met him," she scoffed back, "I got to see his good points. Unlike you, mind's so clouded that it blinds you. He's a good kid, really."
"Not that it matters."
"Of course it matters."
"Whatever," he shrugged and threw off the argument, "how about Niou and Yagyuu? Do you know them?"
"I know Yagyuu from golf. Golf is sort of the rich's sport. Go figure. As for Niou," she tilted her head a little bit, "he isn't any of my acquaintance, actually. I only know him, and I'm sure he also knows me. That sort of thing, I guess."
He curled up his lips smugly in return, "How do you know he actually knows you? I think that's just you being confident."
"Yagyuu, Yukimura, along with Kirihara complain a lot about him. I'll be quite offended if they never talk about who they whined to," she sighed, shuffling her sitting position since she started to have cramps, "beside, I have met him several times already."
"You've met him?"
"When he followed Yagyuu to a golf course, or when he went along with Kirihara to an arcade. Uh, he's like everywhere."
"So, there is someone you're not friend with."
"I never said I know everyone," retorted her, "there are some, actually. I don't know Niou, some of your Seigaku friends, the St. Rudolph guys except for Yuuta and the absolutely annoying Mizuki, I only know Sengoku in Yamabuki, and some other people."
"But you know most of them."
"Well, duh. Isn't that why I am so great?" she rolled her eyes jokingly.
"I bet you don't know Sanada. He won't care a thing about some random chick."
"You got that right, but remember how I am not just any other chicks?"
"So you know Sanada…?" he asked hesitantly.
"In fact, yeah. My grandpa is sort of friend with his granddad, and he told me to learn some self-defense in Sanada's dojo." She explained.
"And you learn kendo," she gave him a slight nod, "that explains why you could swiftly knock Akutsu Jin down."
"I really don't want to have anything to do with him anymore. He's a hassle." She complained with her whiny tone. She wasn't one to whine, so Akutsu Jin must be that much of a hassle.
"And yet you knocked him down."
"He wanted to kill me!" she remarked, justifying her doing.
"Even I want to kill you." He said wryly, though she knew it was actually a joke, "remind me how do we get so close? No, how the hell do we know each other anyway?"
"No wonder people say you're stupid," she shifted, taking a sip from her mug, "we met like, two years ago and you forget already?"
"I'm not! I clearly remember how you ravished more burgers than I did! And you're supposed to be some rich princess." he retorted, also taking a sip from his mug after the not-so-long explanation.
"Then why are you asking me if you know the answer already? I now understand why Kaidoh is so annoyed by your mere presence."
"I'm simply testing your memory. You should be grateful to have such a considerate friend."
"Your stupidity has nothing to do with consideration," she deadpanned with a slight snort indicating that she really thought her friend was stupid.
"But really," he shifted his gaze to the mug he had been holding, "I still don't understand how a rich princess like you could manage to know almost every middle-school tennis players. You're not even in one of the said schools. You're in an all-girls school for God's sake. How do you explain that?"
"Like I told you, the world is such a small place after all." She twinkled in much more happiness and wider grin.
A/N: I know you know who she was talking to c: