"One two three, four five six, seven eight – no!" Hitomi-sensei's hands stopped clapping, pausing the rhythm. Seji and I stopped in our routine, our legs pointing outwards. Sweat slowly dripped off of our foreheads and arms.

"Seji, move your leg out more. More… more… okay, stop there." Hitomi adjusted Seji's leg before moving onto me. I could see the pain in Seji's eyes – she wasn't as flexible as the others.

"Masami, arms straight out. Very good." She tapped on my arm with her bundled up papers, causing my arm to tremble. I immediately froze, afraid she was going to snap at me for my arm. She didn't. I allowed myself to let out a small sigh of relief as I glanced over at Seji. She smiled weakly at me and I flashed a 100-watt grin back.

"Masami!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin when Hitomi called my name.

"H-hai?" I regained my composure, staring straight in the mirrored walls. Hitomi-sensei let out a sigh, waving her hand.

"Take ten minutes." I nearly tripped over my own feet when I heard that – I was eager to take a break. I walked over to the wall where the other girls sat and lowered myself to the floor.

"Fujika-sama," one of the girls called out timidly. "Eto… your cell phone was vibrating in your bag."

"Arigatō, Mei-chan." I smiled at her before crawling to my bag, fishing my phone out.

"Kagami Taiga – 2 new messages. Kuroko Tetsuya – 1 new message. Koganei Shinji – 3 new messages. Izuki Shun – 5 new messages." The messages blinked on the screen on my Samsung Galaxy that I had gotten in America. I decided to check Kagami's messages.

'Riko said that we have practice today. Where are you?' and 'Yo, Riko's killing us at practice because of you…get your ass moving.' Irritated, my fingers moved fast, typing him a message an hour after his latest message.

'Not my fault. Go die then, Bakagami :)' Satisfied, I checked Kuroko's, which said the exact same message, minus the rudeness. Koganei's and Izuki's messages were like spam, repeating the same things multiple times. I sent them both a message: 'At ballet rehearsal now. Won't be done until 3pm. Been at it since 10am, so stop messaging me, bakas.' I glanced at the clock: 1:28pm. A gruelling hour and a half left…

"Everyone, start from scene three!" Hitomi-sensei called out, getting our attentions. I grudgingly pushed myself up from the floor, dropping my phone into my bag.


"Ohmygosh! Look! Look! There's a couple of HOT guys outside! Ne, ne, who do you think they're waiting for? I would so like the guy with silver eyes – he looks so dreamy. Ooh! No, no. The one with glasses! So nerdy yet cute! Look at their basketball jerseys." The girls crowded around the windows after rehearsal was over.

"Ne, Fujika-sama, look out there! There are some guys out front!" Two of the girls dragged me by surprise towards the window.

"What is it, guys? I'm so beat after practice…" I moaned. Then, the girls decided to push my face into a window. As irritated as I was, I glanced out, spotting a familiar red-head, bluenette, and lots of brown and black-haired guys standing outside.

"What the hell?!" I shrieked. The girls pulled back from me in surprise.

"You know them, Fujika-sama?"

"Like hell I do," I growled, stomping over to the entrance. I forced the doors open and stomped over to them, catching their attentions.

"Hey, Masami-chan!" Like the idiots they were, they waved their hands madly at me, with the exceptions of Hyūga, Kagami, and Kuroko. I glared at them.

"What the hell are you all doing outside my ballet studio?" I stood with my hand on my hip while the other held onto my duffel bag.

"The guys decided to come here and look for you since you didn't reply to our texts," Hyūga said.

I narrowed my eyes at them. "I answered your texts. I had gotten them from Bakagami, Kuroko, Koganei, and Izuki. 11 messages to be exact. How did you find me here anyways?" I demanded.

"It isn't that hard to find you on the internet since you're well-known," Kagami sarcastically replied.

"But Kagami, Masami-chan is famous…" Kuroko countered. Kagami's face held annoyance as he squeezed Kuroko's head in his hand. I smirked at Kagami, knowing that I had him. Then it hit me.

"Wait…did you just say…you looked me up…on the internet?" Flabbergasted, I cocked my head slightly to the side with an incredulous stare.

"…." The seven of them (Kuroko, Kagami, Tsuchida, Hyūga, Mitobe, Koganei, and Izuki) looked down at the ground, shuffling their feet.

"Well…you well…we thought about making an appearance and surprise you since you left us hanging during practice…" Koganei, the brave soul, spoke up.

"It. Was. Not. My. Fault." I enunciate each syllable clearly. "I have ballet practice three times a week; basketball practice three – four times a week with you guys; piano practice every. Fucking. Day." My voice dropped from the usual tone to a menacing one.

"Eto… want to have a late lunch with us?" Kuroko asked. I brightened up at his suggestion.

"Yay! Lunch! Maji Burgers! Maji Burgers!" I grabbed Kuroko's arm and skipped down the sidewalk with him trailing behind me. The guys sighed and followed me down to Maji Burgers, but I could hear their inner thoughts as clear as day, 'How bipolar can she be?'


"Twenty burgers and a medium soda." Kagami took out his wallet and paid the dumbstruck cashier. He took his tray and headed over to where the rest of us sat. I ogled at his small mountain, surprised at his big appetite. Everyone else had two burgers, while Kuroko and I had a milkshake. I watched in fascination as Kagami unwrapped a burger and shoved it into his mouth, causing me to laugh. Everyone stared at me like I was mental, but I continued to laugh. Wiping the tears away, I gathered my composure before sipping away at my milkshake with a small smile.

"What was so funny?" Kagami demanded.

"You looked like a chipmunk when you stuff your face like that. It was really funny!" I began to giggle again. Mu laughter was contagious as everyone but Kagami began to chuckle.

"Now that you mentioned it, he seemed more like a chipmunk than Koganei." Hyūga mused.

"Koganei looks like a cheeky cat with his weird smile," Izuki observed. We watched as Kagami's face turn red with embarrassment. Amused, I got up to grab a napkin to wipe up the water droplets that formed on my abandoned milkshake, only to bump into someone tall.

"Oomph!" I fell down on my butt, earning some snickers from my own friends. Great friends… I drily thought.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Here," a voice said, stretching an arm out towards me.

"Arigatō," I mumbled. I looked up to find a tall blonde who seemed familiar. He narrowed his eyes at me, realizing that I seemed familiar too.

"Ne, haven't I seen you before?" He asked. I froze, afraid to move. A bead of sweat appeared on the side of the head. I shifted my eyes around nervously.

"Ano…I don't think so?"

"Kise-kun." Kuroko's voice called to the blonde's attention. KISE?! The one from the team that we had beaten during the practice match?

"Kurokocchi!" Kise bounded over to Kuroko's table, leaving me standing there. It was then that I noticed a black-haired guy standing in front of me. He glanced at me nervously before asking, "Are you alright?" I nodded my head and walked over to my table again, taking a seat next to Izuki.

"Ano…who exactly is Kise?" I slightly leaned into Izuki to whisper in his ear after noticing almost everyone in the fast-food restaurant was staring at the blonde.

"Kise Ryouta – he's a member of the Generation of Miracles, the same like Midorima. Kise's also a model." Izuki whispered back. Kise's golden eyes caught sight of us whispering and leaned over to me.

"What are we whispering over here?" I nearly jumped out of my seat after he spooked me.

"Kise-kun, stop scaring Masami-chan." Kuroko's monotone voice called out.

"Aww, Kurokocchi! I just wanted to know what this pretty maiden was doing with a bunch of sweaty basketball players like you guys. No offense to you, Kurokocchi!" Kise's whiny voice annoyed me. A vein popped up on my forehead.

"Well, she's a basketball player with us!" Koganei proudly exclaimed. Time stopped as Kise and his friend processed Koganei's comment through their brain.

"…." The Seirin team glared daggers at Koganei, who was too dense to notice the daggers piercing his heart. Me, on the other hand, was already imagining his death by my hands. I forcefully kicked Koganei in the shin and quickly stood up.

"I gotta go." I quickly grabbed my duffel bag and nearly sprinted out of Maji Burgers. Of course, Koganei would be the first one to blabber my secret… It's a boys' team for heaven's sake! A girl can't join, and of course, Japan doesn't have a fuckin' girls' team anywhere! My head almost exploded with the anger and frustration that were pent up in my brain. Mā ī, whatever happens happen. But I'll force my way if anyone opposes. I'll still complete our promise, onii-san. A small smile appeared on my face as I skipped home to an angry father who demanded to know where I was out all night.

"You still have piano practice! Not to mention, your concerto competition is next Friday, meaning you have tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday!"

I nodded my head, I already know this…

"And, you have a ballet performance for the entire Japan to see in four months! The prime minister, or whoever it is, will be coming to watch you!"

I know, I know… I waited until my father finished his rant before trudging up the stairs. Life… what else could happen? Without knowing it, I just jinxed myself.