Weiss
There weren't any reasons for me to feel disappointed when Ruby had texted me she would be busy today. I knew at some point our schedules wouldn't match up.
But even after telling myself that, it didn't lighten the heaviness clouding inside my chest. I had never realized how much I looked forward to seeing her until she actually wasn't there.
"You got nothing to do today?" Blake asked me as she packed her notebooks into her bag. The bell had rung, signaling the end of school. Students scrambled out of the classroom for freedom.
"Nothing," I replied as I tidied up the last bit of my papers. "Didn't you have a club meeting?"
"Cancelled," she said.
"Hm, that's a first."
"What happened to what's her name… Uh… Goldfish Girl?"
"Who?"
"The one who almost fell off the motorcycle?" Blake clued me to the best of her abilities.
Oh, she was referring to Ruby.
"She's busy today," I said. Blake followed me out the door and we walked outside together in the schoolyard. It had been ages since I last hung out with her. Most of my days had been spent with Ruby. "Is there something you want to do? I have the time." Either the question went in and out of Blake's ear, or she ignored me. "Blake," I said, frowning.
"Hm?" Her attention was definitely elsewhere. Elsewhere being the crowd of people surrounding the basketball court. Blake was like a book. Easy to read, but tough to crack open.
"Do you want to take a look?"
"Up to you."
I was already walking towards that direction anyways. I had little to no interest, but Blake was a curious cat. She never liked to admit it though.
"Why's there so many people crowding around?" I muttered, trying to peek between the shoulders.
"It's a game." The universe blessed Blake with an above average height. She used zero amount of effort to glimpse past the heads blocking our way while I had to strain my toes. "Hey, isn't that Goldfish Girl?"
The nickname drew my attention.
Why would Ruby be here?
I found a perfect spot to stand that gave me the whole view of the court. Amongst the group of students trying to size each other up at the center of the court, Ruby was really one of them.
Her Signal uniform was gone as she wore a sleeveless shirt that had been ripped down a few inches on both sides at the pit. As for the bottom, she wore shorts that were above the knee.
"Did you hear? Signal High came to bet on a basketball game with us," one student wearing a Beacon High uniform exclaimed. Honestly, the large audience that had gathered around were all Beacon affiliated.
"Seriously? They're going to get their butts kicked. They're going against part of the boys basketball team. Man, students from Signal must be desperate to lose."
I recognized most of the people on the court. Making up Signal High's team were Ruby, Yang, and another blond person I had never met. Meanwhile, Beacon High had Cardin, Velvet, and Russel.
"Do you want to stick around?" Blake's question tore my attention away from the court for a moment. She had lost interest.
"If you don't mind…" I said, promptly turning back to the game. My eyes were wrapped more so on Ruby. She was calm, but her silver eyes flared ecstatically with excitement.
"We can stay."
"Hey," Cardin hollered. His voice was rough around the edges. He towered over the Signal students brazenly with his imposing physique. "Where's that yellow noodle?"
"Jaune couldn't make it." The blond guy was not intimidated by Cardin's hulking stature as they stood almost face to face. Actually, not really, Cardin was a head taller. "Medical emergency.
"Tch. Wimp."
"I hope you don't mind. My friend Yang is going to substitute for him."
As if it was her grand introduction, Yang whimsically greeted him with a two-finger salute. "Sup."
Cardin gauged Signal's lineup and he wasn't at all impressed. Ruby, standing aloof to the side of her cousin, was several inches shorter than him. Yang wasn't much taller than Ruby, so Signal's team was looking pathetically short compared to Beacon.
"Russel," Cardin eventually decided, "I'm replacing you."
"What?! Why?"
"Two girls and one boy. We're going to even the odds. Or else people wouldn't think this game will be fair at all."
"You suck man."
"Shut up."
"Is this even a good idea to have a last minute substitute?" Velvet asked, scowling at his impulsive decision.
Cardin sharply turned to the crowd who flinched upon his cold, hardened glare. He scanned amongst them searching for someone in particular.
"Hey, Fashion Snob!" Cardin made eye contact with the one he was looking for. "Get over here."
The audience divided like waves to make room for whoever Cardin had been calling for. A girl with the same towering height as Cardin stepped forward and started zipping down her jacket as she pompously strode to the court.
"No way! Is that Coco Adel?" The voices in the background murmured.
"Whoa, we got two captains from the basketball team! Our team is stacked!"
"You should learn how to say please, you stupid blob of meat," Coco scoffed at Cardin. She discarded her jacket to the sidelines, revealing a tight black tank top that went against the school's dress code. Boys whistled, girls hooted. "Wow, they're so..." Coco squinted her eyes at their opponent. "...short and underwhelming."
Yang elbowed Ruby in the arm. "She's talking about you."
"You're shorter than her too." Ruby jabbed her cousin back.
"When do I ever say please?" Cardin sneered. "Make sure you don't ball hog."
"No promises."
"Coco!" Velvet greeted her friend with an enthusiastic smile. Cardin's mood soured.
"Sup, Velv."
"Can we get this rolling?" The blond one from Signal High impatiently drawled.
"Russel, you'll be the referee." Cardin tossed him the basketball. "Keep track of the points."
"Yeah, sure, whatever man." His friend grumpily went to the center of the court and held the ball out. "Shortest players on both teams will jump for the ball!"
His announcement earned a few laughs from the crowd. Even I snuffed out a chuckle because Ruby was the shortest one out of both teams. Velvet may be representing Beacon team's shortest player, but she still had a height advantage over Ruby.
"You better jump, Rabbit!" Cardin hollered behind them, defending his side of the court. Velvet dismissed his callous order by waving a hand in the air.
"God you're so loud," Coco muttered and rubbed her ears.
"Jump, Rabbit, jump!" The dramatic flair he exerted through his voice was made to burst eardrums, specifically Coco's. The game hadn't even started yet, nor were the players ready for jump ball. "Jump! Jum— "
"Shut up, Cardin!" Velvet yelled at him back.
"No cheers for me?" Ruby mimed a hurt to her own teammates as she and Velvet gathered to the center of the court. I silently cheered for Ruby as I couldn't muster up the courage to voice out my support. I was too embarrassed, plus it was not in my character.
"Naw," the blond member from Signal flashed a grin. He wasn't even in a stance as he stood very lax. "The ball will fly to your face anyways."
"You suck, Sun."
The blond boy, who I now assume was Sun, gave a supportive thumbs up in which Ruby could not see with her back turned.
"Players, are you ready?" Russel magically brought out a whistle and placed it between his lips. He looked at Ruby and Velvet for confirmation.
They both nodded, and with a blow of a whistle, he tossed the ball in the air.
Everyone had expected Velvet to win jump ball due to her dominating height over Ruby. But when the ball went in the air, Ruby proved everyone that being short didn't put you at a disadvantage. The hem of her shirt rose as she jumped incredibly higher than Velvet. She extended her arm just a little further, and just like that Signal gained control of the ball.
"What kind of rabbit loses in a jumping contest?!" Cardin cried out, his mouth agape with disbelief as he dropped down into a defensive position.
"It's alright, Velvet!" Coco cheered supportively, crouching into the same defensive stance as Cardin. "You tried your best!"
"Oh my god," the hushed whispers coming from the people next to me gushed amongst themselves. They were mostly girls. "Did you see? That girl is chiseled."
My ear strained.
"The really short one right? I saw it too! Uggh, she is so fine, heck, everyone from Signal is cute."
A deep frowned snuck on my face.
"That blond girl also has abs too."
"No way!"
"I saw it! It's literally Team Abs versus Team Tall."
"Gaah," the girl squealed. "I'm lowkey rooting for Signal High. Especially for the short one."
Scowling harder, I forced myself to ignore the female population swooning over Signal basketball players and focused more on the game.
Sun dribbled the ball forward but kept an arm distance away from Cardin as every defending player paired up. On the wing, Yang had been kicking back with Coco guarding her. Meanwhile, Ruby had been jogging back and forth underneath the hoop trying to get Velvet off her heels.
"Screen!" Coco shouted, running alongside Yang who had set up a block for her teammate. "Switch!"
The screen was successful, and Sun drove forward to the basket with Coco now guarding him. After rolling from the screen, Yang's brief opening had been cut off by Cardin as he got in between their paths. Beacon thought their defense was impressive, but they were sorely mistaken.
Sun bounce-passed the ball to Ruby who easily gave Velvet the slip. She drove underneath the basket for a reverse layup and scored two points for Signal.
"Whoa, that girl is good!" The crowd's impression of Signal flipped after watching her stellar performance.
I covered up my smile behind a hand as I watched Ruby prance around giving her teammates each a high five. Not before returning to defensive position, she casted her eyes to the crowd in my direction.
My foolish heart fluttered, along came the giddy feelings that I had first thought were platonic. I thought we made eye contact from the way she stared off to the side. Just as I was about to send a small wave, she turned.
My hand fell back onto its side. Ruby didn't notice me.
