Another Saturday afternoon, and an early soccer practice. And by early, I mean a day early. Sunday would be occupied with a practice game versus another nearby school. Most of the players only heard "practice".
Sayaka on the other hand...
"Did she even hear you tell her it was a practice game?" Homura asked Hitomi. The two watched Sayaka flow with such intensity you'd think she was in the World Cup. The passionate flame in her eyes, practically visible from the stands, could light the field on fire.
"I'm sure she did," The girl with seaweed hair answered, "I'm also sure she doesn't care."
"She's an amazing player, and passionate about the sport, too."
The blue blur sent the ball screaming down the field, right into the footwork of one of the boys, who quickly reacted by shooting it towards the goal. The kick missed, but there was Sayaka, catching it in the air with her foot after the gaolie headbutted it away, smashing the ball into the net like a rocket.
Hitomi giggled, a smile crossing her face. "She is fantastic, isn't she." The tone in her voice was soft, and the way she looked at her friend on the field, the way her emerald eyes lit up...
"You two must be very good friends."
"She, Madoka, and I have been friends since first grade. Even before I met her, Sayaka was playing soccer."
"Really?"
"Mhm. Her father used to always say she was born with cleats on and a ball in her hand." The green-haired girl chuckled at the thought. "She used to play on the high school team. She was a bit of a celebrity, but... her deafness was always something people laughed at her about. But seeing her on the field? You wouldn't know it. She can just look at where everyone's going, and in a second make a decision, without a word."
"You said she was kind of popular?"
"Yeah, she was."
"Did, uhm, I mean, she uh, she's not... un-pretty. Did anyone ever have a crush on her?"
Hitomi smiled, laughing a little. "She is definitely not un-pretty. There were a few boys who crushed on her, a girl or two, also."
"Did she ever date anyone?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, I mean..." How to say this without sounding like an ass... "She's deaf." Great job, Homura.
But the translator only nodded. "That did stop a most in their tracks. She never did get a boyfriend or girlfriend." She suddenly stopped, glancing around. "But there was one girl. She learned sign language, just to get closer to her."
Oblivious, Homura said sullenly, "That sucks."
"What?"
"Well to learn a new language, just to have your crush go off to a different school."
"My parents would disown me, erase me from their wills, and kill me if they heard me say this, but..." With a red face and deep breath, Hitomi said, "That girl is me. I've been crushing on Sayaka for... god, how long? She doesn't know, and I doubt she'd be interested in me, but..." Her voice trailed off, eyes moving to watch her crush drive home another goal. "I don't know."
"Maybe you should-" The raven-haired girl was cut off by the loud banging of someone skipping across the bleachers.
"Hey, what'd I miss?" Madoka yawned cheerfully, plopping down next to Homura. Unlike normal, her pink hair was down, and a total mess on top of that.
"Well you missed an important meeting between Sayaka and I," Her friend said indignantly, "And we decided, without you, that you'd have to stay here tomorrow."
"What." The simple confusion in the pinkette's voice was adorable.
"What?"
"You two are leaving me?"
"What, no. Well, yes, but-"
"I knew it!" Madoka shot up, pointing her stub accusingly at Hitomi.
"No, just listen for a second."
Madoka sat down without a word, puffing her cheeks out poutingly.
"There's a practice game at another school tomorrow. Sayaka is going with the team, obviously, and I'm going with to-"
"Can I come!" The bubblegum-haired girl leaned across Homura like a rocket, eyes wide and excited.
"No, we already decided you need to stay. I'm going with to translate for Sayaka."
"Meanie." The pinkette returned to pouting, which was quite cute.
"You can spend the day with me, Madoka," Homura suggested. What'd be so wrong with that? I mean, spending the day with a cute girl like Madoka...
"I was going to suggest you lock her in, but-"
"Hey! I'm still here!" Madoka shouted, interrupting her friend, "Besides, my room is smelly."
"Why does it smell?" Hitomi inquired.
"...Reasons."
"Maybe if you left your paintings in the art room, your room wouldn't smell."
"Some drying paint is a good smell-" The bubblegum girl made a large motion with her arms, "-But there's too much! And I dunno which paintings to take to the art room, I need to experiment with different ones being in and out!"
"Is that why you were late?"
"No."
"Then why were you late?"
"Like I said. It was too much. Spray paint is strong stuff."
Hitomi groaned out of her friend's idiocy, but the girl continued.
"So I almost passed out. Luckily I had painting masks. And a quarantine sign. Well actually a piece of paper I wrote QUARANTINE on, but it works."
"And how do you now plan to move these paintings without gassing the entire floor?"
"Fast hands and gas masks."
"Well Sayaka and I will be gone tomorrow, so we can't help you."
Both Hitomi and Madoka turned their attentions towards the girl sitting between them.
"Wha-what?" Homura asked, worriedly glancing between her friends and their gazes.
"Homura-chu~!" The pinkette giggled happily. Dear God save me I might die of cute. "How would you like to help me run paintings from my room to the art room?"
"O-oh, s-sure!" The raven-haired girl stammered, her heart beating at what felt like a million miles an hour.
Wait.
Fuck.
That's not good.
Homura shut her eyes, holding onto her chest, trying to feel her heart beat.
Thump Thump. Thump Thump. Thump Thump.
Thank God.
"Homura, is everything alright?" Hitomi asked, a small tinge of concern in her voice.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine," She lied.
A high-pitched noise broke the girl's conversation, the whistle sounding the end of practice. With a grunt, the translator stood, walking down the bleachers. "That's my cue. Talk to you guys later!"
Homura decided now would be a good time to head back to her room. With a "See you tomorrow" to Madoka, she departed.
Homura's hand stopped for a split second, hovering over the handle to her room. She turned, eyeing the door opposite her.
Mami hasn't spoken to me since Monday... She thought to herself, But why? The brunette had been confused about this since Tuesday, and it was time to get answers. With a loud rasp in the door, she waited.
There was a quiet crashing sound, scrambling, and then a distraught "Hello?" from the inside of the room.
"Mami? It's Homura. May I come in?"
More crashing and scrambling was accompanied by a surprised noise and hurried footsteps. The white door opened to Homura's blonde friend, who was trying her best to hide... some mix of emotions.
"Of course, come right in!" She said happily, giving a big grin.
The source of the crashing was made apparent by the mound of books toppled over in the corner of the room.
"I was sorting some new books from my parents," Mami explained, "I apologize for the mess."
"No, it's fine." Suddenly faced with the opportunity to get answers, words escaped the raven-haired girl.
"I'm... guessing you came here to ask why I've been avoiding you..."
"Yeah." A pang of guilt hit Homura's heart at so easily admitting that, not even pretending she just wanted to hang out or... something, anything else. "Sorry."
"No, it's fine. I should be the one apologizing."
"So why have you?"
Mami turned her head away, milky eyes refusing to meet Homura's. "I..." The blonde's mind was running at a thousand miles a second. Now could be the perfect time to confess, but...
"I had a lot of homework. Our teacher assigned us a huge amount in preparation of the tests today, and so I had to skip lunch to work on them. She gave us no time in class to work on them." She giggled a little. "I swear, there'll be a revolution one of these days."
Homura chuckled, smiling. "Okay then. I'm glad you didn't hate me or something."
"Why would I hate you, Miss Akemi?"
"I guess so," The brunette nodded.
"Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back to organizing my books."
"Oh, of course. Have a good night!"
As Homura was about to step out the door, she turned, calling back, "Would you be available to help Madoka and me with something tomorrow?"
"I most certainly would."
"Alright! Talk to you tomorrow then!"
And with that, Mami lost her best opportunity to tell Homura her feelings.
And with a sigh, she accepted that fact.
