Chapter Twenty-Seven

I checked the court entrance again and bit back my agitation over this. Late. If Kotoko was going to be able to stand any chance of playing properly, she needed to be on time so I could practice with her. It was going to be lots of work but I figured it was worth it in the end. With her gone from the house, I was bored out of my mind so I was actually quite willing.

Kotoko crept through the gates as though I wouldn't have noticed. I marched over to where she was tip-toeing.

"You're late." I said.

She straightened up guiltily, "I'm sorry. My teacher extended the class." She smiled, twinkling with radiance. I let it go.

"I don't need excuses. Let's just start practicing." I said dully, ready for all the complications.

"Hold it!" Sudo shouted and strutted forward, "Aihara never passed the test, therefore I cannot allow her to play. She has to collect balls." He seemed pretty pleased with himself, making things so much more tricky than they needed to be.

"But we only have one week."

"A rule is a rule," He turned to Kotoko, "Why are you standing there doing nothing? Get the balls!" She got right to it in almost twice the speed.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." She said to me as she sped by. I sighed. Impossible. Sudo was impossible and so immature. It wasn't as though this was even a real game.

So I did the only thing I could do for now.

I squatted next to where she was working, "Don't look at the ground when it comes to you. Keep your eyes on the ball and don't run away. Run toward it." I said lowly so Sudo wouldn't hear.

Kotoko nodded. I went on to practice with Yuuko for the rest of the hour, wasting time. Kotoko, for that entire time, slacked even in picking up balls, but she seemed to watch the players more. She followed balls with her eyes as they were served, even getting hit a few times.

I know I told you not to run away, but you don't have to get hit with them. I thought, releasing a chuckle as she was hit in the foot and hopped up.

"What's so funny?" Yuuko asked. I shook away the laughter.

Once practice was dismissed and Kotoko went to get dressed, I grabbed her by the arm, "We're going to practice now."

"But I'm tired. I was looking at balls, too, and got hit with a lot of them." She pouted.

"We don't have a choice since you can't practice during club hours." I said. She hung her head and groaned.

"Swing your racket 100 times." I ordered. Her deliverance was sloppy at best, so the structure with which she served and hit needed to be reconstructed before anything else could happen today.

She closed her eyes, resigning to it. She raised the racket in her hand and stopped short. A drop of water hit me in the arm, and then another on my forehead. Perfect.

Kotoko giggled, "It's raining." She tried to catch a drop on her tongue.

"We'll be practicing every morning for the next week. You better start swinging if we're going to get anywhere."

"We're going to practice in the rain?" She complained.

"Yes," I said, "Swing."

She gave in and lifted her arm, bringing the racket down in a loose, powerless swing.

"You have to give it more power than that and it has to be swifter." She tried again and it wasn't any better.

"Fine, I'll demonstrate." I served a quick ball, explaining the positioning of my arms and the force needed to get the ball over to the other side of the net. She jerked her head up and down, trying to understand, but still not getting it right in her next try.

"Here," I reached over and positioned her shoulders and arm correctly, straightening her elbow, "You need to have good posture when you swing."

It was better than when we first started, but still not very good and not controlled enough to succeed in tennis. It was good enough for now, I supposed.

I taught her the correct motion to use when going for a ball, showing her the quick, rapid steps taken.

She practiced this routine of steps and swinging until dark and through the spattering of rain. She did another swing.

"You still need to be faster. And bring your shoulder forward." Kotoko stopped and stared at me, tired.

"Can't we stop? It's been two hours." She then grinned hard at me.

Well, it is late… I thought.

"Fine. We'll pick up here again tomorrow."

"Yay! See you tomorrow!" She rushed off to get changed as though I might change my mind.

"Tomorrow at seven o'clock! You better not be late!" I called after her.

"Okay!"

I smiled to myself at her enthusiasm, and then I also dressed and went home.