"Welcome, friends of Haru who seem to have no other afternoon meeting spot besides here," the guy at the front desk said. He had black hair that looked gelled back, and was wearing dark glasses. "Hm? What's this? Someone new?"
"Gah, is he talking about me?" I whispered to Natsume, but she was already running past the front desk into the lounging area.
"Hey, manager!" Sasayan said. "This is Sakura Katsumi."
"Hi," I said with a smile.
"Nice to meet you. So, baseball boy," he said, turning back to Sasayan, "you up for a couple of rounds? The team's already in the cages."
"Yep!" he smiled. "Katsumi, wanna come try?" He looked at me. I must've looked confused, because he said, "batting practice."
"Oh! Yeah!" I replied happily.
"Cool!" he said. "Follow me!" I put my stuff on to the couch next to where Natsume was sitting.
"If you want me to help you study, then you better cooperate with me!" Shizuku chided her.
"Ahh, sorry, Mitty!" she replied. Haru was lying down on the couch, reading a book.
"Eh, Sasayan!" I looked towards the batting cages. There was a large group of guys. A couple guys were already hitting. This must be the baseball team.
"Hey, Yana! Guys, this is Sakura Katsumi," he said, motioning to me.
"Woah, so pretty," a guy said. I heard of couple of mutters and nods in response.
I smiled nervously at them, waving my hand slightly.
"Hey, Katsumi, this cage is open," Sasayan shouted. I walked over and he handed me a bat. I held it in my hands and shifted my grip to the correct position. "Eh? You know how?"
"My dad taught me," I replied. "Hey, Sasayan, I bet you I can get more points than you in batting!"
Everything got quiet.
"Sasayan, you better not back down! We all heard this bet!" A few guys snickered. Sasayan looked stunned, then he smiled.
"Deal."
Sasayan was batting first. Each homerun you hit is 10 points, and you get 20 balls. He ended up with 190 points.
"Try beat that," he said with a smirk. I smiled back.
"Okay." I entered the cage and got ready. The ball was pitched, and I swung my bat around. There was a loud crack, and an animated cheer. I had hit one home run!
"One down, 19 to go!" I said happily. I hit a second, and a third. I smiled at Sasayan. "Still think you're gonna win?" His mouth dropped. The rest of the team was cheering me on. By 19 home runs, it had become quiet. This ball would determine if I won or not.
The ball was pitched, and I swung. I felt my bat connect with the ball, and I swung my hardest. There was a loud CRACK!
"Did she hit it? Is it a home run?" Sasayan asked anxiously.
The animated crowd stayed silent as the announcer said, FOUL BALL!
"What!? A foul ball?" I shouted.
"What does this mean?"
"Did Sakura-chan win or did Sasayan?"
"I won," Sasayan said.
"Huh?" I said. "Even if that was a foul ball, it was still a foul ball home run!"
"But you said you could earn more points than me. We still both have 190! So technically, I won!" Realization hit me, and I sulked.
"Aw, all right then," I said. "Next time I'll be sure to beat you!" I smiled at him.
"Who cares about next time? Sakura-chan, you lost so now you have to do something for Sasayan!" Yana said.
"What? What type of thing?" I replied, lost. "Don't I just pay him or something?"
"Ooh! That's good, Sakura-chan! How much?"
"How about you split it among all of us?"
"No, I'm not going to take your money, Katsumi," Sasayan said.
"What? Isn't that what a bet is? I have to give you money," I told him.
"I got it!" a boy shouted. "Since Sakura-chan insists on giving Sasayan money, but he doesn't want to accept it, make them go on a date!"
"A date?" I gasped, taken aback.
"What!?" Sasayan shouted.
"Yeah, that's good, Fujioka! Go on a date with Sakura-chan, Sasayan! And she can pay!" Yana said.
"Why can't I just give you the money now?" I asked.
"I can't take your money!" he replied quickly. "A date?"
"You really want to?" I whispered, not meeting his eyes.
"Well, I did win the bet..."
"Okay, then! Let's go on a date!" I replied. I smiled. He looked shocked, but smiled back.
"Okay, a date."