"Am I that bad of a manager?"
Shibuya looked up to see his reaction. The expression on his face was serious as usual, but she knew that he was pondering on what to say.
Kakei was different to Mizumachi in so many ways, but they were also similar in things other than their determination to reach the top.
For example, neither took lying as an option.
The only difference in that is that Kakei knows about the option of staying quiet, while Mizumachi is seemingly unaware of it.
Shibuya quickened her pace, trying to keep up with the boy, who had (much) longer legs. She wondered what he would do if he was cornered to answer like this, as she looked up, yet not quite meeting his eyes.
"Well… Firstly, your organising and cleaning skills are unsatisfactory and you don't seem to improve after months. To add on to that, you only come to the afternoon practices once every two days—"
'I only come to school once every two days,' she thought gloomily.
"— the condition of the club room didn't significantly improve since you joined. In fact, it might've gotten worse since information on the other teams have been going missing. You have a lot to work on."
Kakei's words never stung— they burn.
She looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze anymore.
"Oh. I… thought so…"
Kakei narrowed his eyes at her, before looking away.
"There's always room for improvement."
Shibuya was glad he turned away – otherwise, he would've seen how red her face became.
"It's late," she spoke up. "Let's go home."
"Hey, Ma—ki..."
Shibuya really couldn't be bothered with them at the moment.
"What is it now?"
"We're missing one of our girls right now. Can you get over here within an hour?"
"There's always room for improvement," Kakei's words came to her mind.
Shibuya paused, before replying. "Get someone else. I can't come tonight."
"What? Wait—"
She hung up before he could force her to change her mind.
Shibuya yawned, and headed to bed before it got too late.
"Eh? But it's Wednesday!" Mizumachi exclaimed.
"Yes, it is," Kakei added.
"So?"
"You usually only come on Tuesdays and–"
"Don't get anything wrong!" she interrupted. "I only came today because it was too late to do the laundry yesterday! I even cancelled an important appointment for today!"
Not that, being with those people was important.
"But… you're still gonna come on Wednesdays, right?" Mizumachi asked excitedly.
"Um…"
Kakei gave her a pat on the shoulder, before heading towards the other players to discuss next week's game plan. "Good job."
Shibuya couldn't help but smile.
"Well, it's great that you're gonna come on Wednesdays!" Mizumachi cheered, taking her silence as a yes, before joining Kakei.
(She had to restrain herself from grinning any wider)
"What."
"We have a practice match against Tamagawa Blue Sharks tomorrow. I expect you to come and record the match."
"Wait… what."
"It's nothing new for you, is it?"
"You know I don't come on Wednesdays."
"I have to say that last week's incident disproves your statement, Shibuya," Kakei said coolly.
"That was only once!"
"Mizumachi doesn't believe so."
Shibuya bit her lip at the mention of the trusting boy's name, but regained her composure.
"… But this time, I really, really have important business," she lied; in what she believed to be a convincing way.
"He's really excited about this match."
"Mizumachi?"
"Who else?"
"So what if he is? He's excited about almost every single match. It's not like I'm even interested in him or anything. But the point is, Kakei, I won't come to this match, okay?"
(She didn't think she was as convincing as before this time)
I'm disappointed in you, Shibuya.
She expected him to say it, but he did no such thing. He didn't even say, "I expected more from you" or frown disapprovingly.
"I thought you would say that," he replied. "I'll see you on Thursday, then. You could sort out the data, at least."
She was left speechless, as he waved, before exiting the club room.
She plopped down on a chair. She didn't need to wonder what she did wrong; she already knew what it was.