Chapter Five: The World Keeps Spinning

"You did very well today!" Jun, Eiji's physical therapist told him as his appointment wrapped up. "Now, I'm clearing you to use crutches at home, so you can finally get out of that chair! But remember, you can always fall back on it if you have a long day of walking planned! Don't push yourself too hard!"

He attempted to smile as he nodded. The rest of her words embraced him like a hazy morning fog on the practice field. She was saying something about being able to go back to school and advancing to a boot in the next few weeks. But he was barely able to process any of it.

There was no point in going back to school. Everyone was studying for exams and next week would be filled with test-taking. He could do all of that at home. Going back would mean having to explain his situation to countless peers and teachers, receiving shallow pity and genuine concern, both of which he was so tired of.

But the main reason his emotions were dulled was his impending loss of scholarship. He hadn't received the call or email yet, but he knew it was imminent. After all, his coach told him he called the school on his behalf. They didn't say anything then, waiting to see how Eiji recovered. But that was a few weeks ago now, and Eiji was still no closer to jumping again. And so, the dread consumed him every time his phone chimed or he received a call. Any day now, he knew it.

"They cleared me for crutches," Eiji told Aki as he met her in the waiting room, new crutches in tow.

"That's great, Ei-chan!"

She too began rambling on and on about how proud she was of him but it was all a blur.

The Okumuras didn't own a car, but thankfully, they lived within minutes of the physical therapy building. Eiji hobbled home and Aki pushed the empty chair. It took much longer to reach their house than it typically did, yet it lifted Eiji's spirits greatly to have an ounce of independence back.

His phone rang as he was walking in the door. Dreading the call of impending doom, he let it ring three times before Aki asked him if he was going to answer it. Begrudgingly, he dug his phone from his pocket, only to find it was simply Daichi calling.

"Hey…..yeah?...that's fine…..don't worry about it, I just got back from PT, I'm tired anyway, I— …..It's cool, really…..okay, see ya."

"Not coming?" Aki asked as Eiji hung up.

He shook his head. "Exams are next week, he said his mom's making him stay home and study."

Eiji tried not to look disappointed, but in reality, he'd been looking forward to Daichi's visit all week. The days were pretty boring lately, especially since Aki had to return to work and Eiji had to manage around the house by himself all week. The thought of his friend sleeping over on Friday night was the only thing that kept him going.

"Well, Miyuki should be home from school any minute, we could go out to eat."

It was a tempting offer, but the medical bills were piled high and Eiji knew that they shouldn't. "It's fine, Mom."

"Then you pick what you want for dinner. Anything, Eiji, your choice."

"Whatever you were planning on making is fine, really."

"Come on, Eiji, let me treat you," she insisted.

Suddenly there were tears in his eyes, "I don't deserve to be treated." His voice cracked as he spoke. He was suddenly very grateful for the crutches and began to hobble away from Aki.

"Eiji," she stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder. "Why would you say that?"

The thoughts that had been brewing for the past few weeks as he laid in bed finally bubbled to the surface. "Because, Mom, I failed! My class graduates in two weeks without me! I can barely walk, let alone vault! Any day now, I'll get the call saying my scholarship has been dropped and I can't afford college without it! Sure, I'm good at school, but vaulting is the only thing I really like! I don't even know what I'd study if I could go to school!"

As if on cue, his phone rang, still in his hand from his previous call. The number on the screen was one he didn't recognize and he knew instantly that it was the call. He just stared at it, unable to answer. Aki gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist and took the phone from him.

"Hello…..no, I'm his mother, he can't come to the phone right now…..O—Okay, I—…..yes, yes he is….."

Eiji couldn't bear to hear the conversation unravel. He continued to hobble down the hall, collapsing on the guest bed he recently thought of as his own. He slammed a pillow over his head to muffle Aki's words. After a few minutes, her voice ceased and he knew the call had ended. The hall creaked as she joined him in the guest room.

"Eiji," she began softly, "that was the University of Tokyo—"

He groaned and buried his face deeper into the mattress, fingers tightening on the pillow over his head. The bed creaked as Aki sat on the other side. She placed a motherly hand on his back.

"They said they're very sorry to learn about your injury—"

Eiji scoffed into the sheets.

"But they said they'd be willing to offer you the same scholarship the following academic year, assuming—"

"That's impossible, Mom," he mumbled into the bedsheets. "It's taken me three weeks just to walk on crutches! How am I supposed to be Olympic quality in just one year?"

"Just because you were Olympic quality before, doesn't mean you have to be again," Aki said calmly.

"But that's why they want me." He muffled a scream into his pillow. "Besides, the surgeon said he doesn't think I'll be able to— be able to—" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"I know, baby," she said, mercifully. "I know."

Monday began exam week. Eiji completed all his exams online with his grandmother as his proctor. Aki had returned to work the previous week, but the school's policy required a designated proctor for all exams taken off-campus, therefore, Obachan, his grandmother, signed the overly-formal document in which she swore to not let her grandson cheat or exceed his time limit.

Obachan, or Pati which was her actual first name, was Aki's mother and the similarities between the two were clear. Love and motherly wisdom seemed to pour from them both like water from a hot spring.

Chemistry was his first exam. She sat him at the kitchen table and set the oven timer for 70 minutes, the exact time the teacher wrote in the instructions. She then sat at the opposite end of the table and worked on crosswords puzzles the entire time. After 50 minutes, Eiji finished and Obachan collected his exam and sealed it in the manila envelope the teacher had sent home.

She then let Eiji have a lunch break before the next exam. Calculus was up next. She set the timer for 70 minutes and handed him the exam. She sat back down, only this time she occupied herself by knitting. When there were only ten minutes left for the exam, she noticed Eiji eyeing the timer nervously and flipping through the remaining questions in an attempt to calculate how much time he had left for each problem. His fingers dug into his hair as he anxiously plugged away at the exam. Eiji still had seven problems left when the timer beeped. His forehead found the table with a thud of defeat. Obachan silenced the oven timer but didn't collect his test.

"Finish it, Eiji," She said instead.

His worried eyes found her caring ones. "But I— and you signed that paper that said—"

She shrugged, "So what? How will they even know? It's not like you're cheating. You know it, you just need more time. Besides, what can they do about it? Fire me? I don't even work for them. Fail you? Not a chance. Take your time. Finish it and check over the rest." She winked at him from her spot beside the oven "I won't tell," she whispered.

Instead of returning to her seat, she began washing vegetables and starting rice in the rice maker. She figured she might as well help out Aki by making dinner while she waited for Eiji. He finished the exam fifteen minutes later.

"Only two per day, right?" Obachan asked as she sealed up the test in the manila envelope.

"Yeah," he stretched his arms over his head and shook out the hand he'd been writing with. "Tomorrow is English and Personal Finance."

Obachan nodded, "Easier than today, I guess?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

The following day went similarly. In the morning, Eiji took his English exam, complete with an oral exam over the phone with his teacher. He then took a break for lunch and took his Personal Finance exam in the afternoon. He then spent the rest of the day studying for his next two exams.

On Wednesday, he took the exams for his History and Japanese literature class, and on Thursday, he completed his final exam, Anatomy and Physiology. They both cheered, Obachan more so than Eiji, with the completion of the final exam.

"That's it, Eiji! You're officially done! You've finished high school!"

Eiji texted Daichi.

Eiji

We're finally done!

Wanna come over later?

Daichi

Can't.

I still have that paper for lit.

It's due by midnight.

Eiji

You haven't finished that yet?

Daichi

Haven't had time

Eiji knew why he didn't have time without him saying. Sports were time-consuming, Eiji knew that all too well. Daichi was trying to be kind, but somehow that hurt more.

Eiji

Come tomorrow then?

Daichi

K.

And that was that. He didn't give a time or even a vague estimation of morning or afternoon. But that was normal, they'd been friends since they were 5. Daichi had a key to his house and he had one to Daichi's. They rarely used them, almost always choosing to knock instead of barging in, but it was the sentiment that counted. Eiji knew there wasn't practice tomorrow, thanks to the calendar in his phone he still obsessively checked, so Daichi would likely be over whenever he woke up and finished his chores.

That night, Obachan made one of Eiji's favorite main courses for dinner, katsudon pork. His grandpa, or Ojichan, also joined them for the small-scale celebration of sorts, complete with fruit parfaits that Aki had picked up from a local shop on her way home from work.

Eiji still felt undeserving of special treatment after recent events, yet even he could recognize that he had worked very hard for the past four years and did, in fact, deserve to celebrate on his final day of high school. So he did his very best to keep his sadness under wraps and let himself enjoy the dinner.

After dinner, his grandparents left, Miyuki finished her homework and then watched TV with Eiji. Their movie finished around ten and Eiji retired to his own room, something that should have been exciting the day he got crutches, but was dulled by the tragic phone call he had received that day.

From his bed, he heard the door downstairs open at about 10:30. He didn't think much of it, assuming Obachan forgot something and came back for it. But the door closed again, quieter this time, unaccompanied by his mother's welcoming voice. He could hear footsteps creeping towards the stairs. He knew Miyuki was in her bed so...who could this be drawing nearer and nearer? He sat up in his bed, unsure if he should be fearful or curious, but definitely feeling both emotions. The feet paused outside his door. Eiji cursed his immobility. He reached for a metal water bottle that sat on his bedside table. It wasn't much of a weapon...but it was something.

The door flung open. Eiji screamed, a frightened hand gripping his pajama shirt. Daichi dove headfirst onto his bed like a child, yelling, "GOTCHA!"

Eiji whacked him four times with a pillow. "Asshole!"

Daichi rolled in laughter. Eiji finally put down the pillow and glared at his friend.

"You shoulda seen your face!"

"SHHHH!" Eiji hissed. "Mom's coming."

And sure enough, Aki's feet thudded up the stairs. She didn't knock on his door, just whipped it open. Not expecting anyone else, she screamed upon seeing Daichi, hand flying to her chest. "Oh! You scared me!"

"Sor—"

"Uh! Eiji, I thought you were hurt!" She composed herself, smoothing her hair and clothes. "Ahh," she sighed, "Stay as long as you'd like Daichi. Just try not to be too noisy, boys. You may be finished, but Miyuki still has school tomorrow."

"YES MA'AM!" Daichi chirped.

She smiled and shook her head, and with that, she shut Eiji's door and slipped next door to explain the commotion to Miyuki before going back to bed.

"I thought you had that paper," Eiji said, quietly.

"Finished it earlier than I thought I would," Daichi replied with a shrug.

Eiji smiled, "You staying the night?"

Daichi slipped the backpack he was sporting off his shoulder and onto the bed. "Brought my shit, didn't I?"

Eiji punched his arm affectionately. "Nice."

They sat and talked for a long while. About their exams; which ones were the hardest, which were the most tedious. About what Eiji had missed at school. About which teachers were leaving after this school year, not that it really mattered to either of them. And about graduation, which was only a few days away. A tension arose with the topic of graduation.

"You're gonna come, right?" Daichi asked Eiji. His fingers toyed with the fringe of one of Eiji's blankets.

Eiji shrugged. He dropped his eyes to the bed. "I— haven't decided."

"I know you missed the last month but...you were there for four years, Eiji...I really think you should walk across the stage with the rest of us."

Eiji nodded but said nothing further.

"What's your Mom say?"

"She says she thinks I should...that I'll regret it later...but she'll honor my choice either way."

Daichi smiled somberly. "She's a good mom. My mom would drag me there half-dead if she had to. She doesn't believe in choice when it comes to things like that. Plus, you already bought your robe back in January…" he cleared his throat and switched to an over-the-top imitation of his mother, "Young man, I spent money on you! You're going and that's that!"

Eiji chuckled, "Well when you put it that way…" he said with a smile.

"And for what it's worth...I want you to come. Cuz it wouldn't be the same without ya."

Eiji considered his words for a moment. "Okay, Daichi, for you. I'll come for you."

"Really?" He asked with a hopeful smile.

Eiji nodded, "Besides, gotta put Mom's money to good use."

"Hey!" Daichi changed the subject cheerfully, "Speaking of money, I bought more manga, so I brought you what I've already read!"

He excitedly dug into his backpack, unloading the haul of stories. He brought him the next volumes of what he was already reading and the first few volumes of a few new ones. Eiji told him multiple times already that he couldn't keep track of all those storylines at once, but that didn't stop Daichi from bringing new stories. He knew Eiji was awfully bored all shut up inside, bringing him some entertainment was the least he could do.

They talked late into the night about what was happening in the stories Eiji was reading, all of which Daichi had already read. Eiji's favorites were Noragami and Attack on Titan, so they talked at length about both stories. Eventually they fell asleep with manga in their hands.