Love For All Seasons- Summer
I opened my eyes as the first light shined through my window and onto my face. I groaned for a little and turned towards the wall, away from the blinding ray. I tossed and turned for the next ten minutes, trying desperately to get comfortable. The summer heat is definitely getting to me. Even with the air conditioning on, my skin stuck to the sheets with sweat. I feel like I just came back from a game. That's one thing that summer is good for, non-stop fun. Of course, there's also another thing...
I turned and reached under my bed. I searched for a while before managing to grab a box. I smiled as I lifted up an old cardboard box onto my bed. I took off the cover and stared at an old, beaten red hat inside. Yes, summer is definitely good for another thing...
*Flashback*
"Next!" my coach yelled. His shouts always sent shivers down my back, but I stood as straight as ever. If not, I'd be taken out of the next game. Our whole team stood in a straight line with our backs straight as a wooden board while our coach called out for the next person in line for try-outs. It seemed like an awfully long line since everyone wanted to be on the glorious boy soccer team who won championship for three years in a row.
As we stood there with sweat on our brows and dry tongues, we'd decided that even the weather is against us today. It's way too hot to just stand here. The sun's heat caused our backs to sweat so hard our jerseys stuck to our backs. Our knees threatened to give in and just collapse but the tension wave that the coach sent out made our knees lock, unable to move.
"NEXT!" my coach yelled even louder. He's getting impatient so someone better come up soon. Just then, a kid in a pair of red shorts and white and red stripe shirt stepped up to face the loud demon. The kid had on a matching red hat to block out the light and to keep a few pieces of light orange hair in place. The coach urged him to take it off, but he insisted to keep it on.
The audition continued as the mysterious kid scored a net every try with our goalie who happens to be the best in the district. Our coach was impressed at the ability he had as he blocked every single kick from the net. I waited impatiently for my turn as I felt the sun begin to burn my already tanned skin.
"Kamiya!" I heard him call. Without any hesitation, I quickly ran to face him. Five soccer balls were lined up in front of me in a straight line. I stared into the kid's fiery red eyes for a second, acknowledging the challenger. Then, with a grunt, I kicked the ball as hard as I could and to my dismay, he grabbed the ball in his hands and held onto it. With a smile, I tried again. The strength and agility of this new kid exhilarated me. I could tell that we both shared the same passion for the sport.
After kicking the last ball, which he blocked expertly like the others, the coach blew his ear-piercing whistle. We all came together as he announced that he made the team. To our surprising, he shook his head with a smile on his face. He took of his hat and threw it at me. I caught it and then looked up. A mat of shoulder length orange hair glistened in the sun. Our jaws all hung when we realized that he was actually a she!
She walked off and left us hanging. Even the coach was speechless. Then, realizing that I was still holding her hat, I ran down the street after her. When I finally reached her, I tapped her on the shoulder and she swiftly turned around, her orange hair hitting my face with full force. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said in a soft voice.
I shook my head and just handed her the red hat. She looked at me for a second and then smiled. "No, you can keep it." I blushed under her smile and looked down. I looked up to say thank you but saw that she had already begun to walk in the other direction.
"Wait!" I called out. "What's your name?" For some reason, I was really anxious to meet her.
She turned around swiftly for a second and screamed out, "Sora Takenouchi!" Then, she was pushed back into the crowd and I was left standing there, clutching onto the red hat.
*End Flashback*
My smile widened as I remembered how embarrassed I was at first to have the girl smile at me. I looked up at the white ceiling and sighed. Then, I took out a bundle of knotted, blood stained bandages. I laid there, waiting for another sweet memory to creep it's way into my head.
*Flashback*
"There," she said as she tied a knot with the bandages. I looked strangely at the bandages on my arm and then at her. They didn't look much like bandages, more like a pile of white material carelessly placed on my left forearm. "So I'm not the best nurse in the world, too bad." In the dark light of the cave seemed to have revealed a brush of crimson creeping on her face.
"No, I didn't mean that." I said, mentally kicking myself for embarrassing her. "Thank you, Sora."
"No problem. Now," she stood up from the dirty ground and brushed off her jeans. "Let's find a way out of this dump." I nodded and jumped up from my awkward sitting position. The bandage had already slipped off my arm but I made sure she didn't see. It would've embarrassed her even further to know that her handiwork didn't even last for five minutes. Slowly and quietly, I tucked the bandage into my pocket while trying to keep up the pace.
*End Flashback*
I sighed when I took out a dried white daisy carefully. I had pressed it so it stayed in mint condition. The white petals have become fragile and stiff. Still, it remained its beauty.
*Flashback*
I waited patiently after ringing the doorbell to the Takenouchi residence. I had on a fresh, clean suit that I had to borrow from a friend. This was Sora and my first formal. We're going as friends though, nothing more. That's why I'm not fussing over anything. I'd assumed that it'll be bored tonight anyway.
When the door swung open, I turned around to face the greeter. There she stood, with her orange hair up in a bun and a delicate silver headband in the front. She had on a long, sleeveless, pale red dress. I stared for a couple of seconds and closed my gaping mouth. I must've looked like an idiot. Then, I offered her my arm and smiled one of my charming grins, "Shall we?" She took my arm and we walked towards my black convertible.
When we got in front of the school, we could hear the loud music from outside. From the windows, we could see colorful lights flashing everywhere. She began to walk towards the entrance when I called out to her from behind. "Wait, here." Then, I picked a delicate white daisy and tucked in behind her ear. She bent her knees a little to make it easier for me to do the job. It's not everyday a guy like me does a girls' hair. Her eyes traveled to my hands as I intertwined the stem with pieces of her hair. "There, perfect." She smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my own face boil. Making sure she doesn't notice, I picked another daisy and gently put it in my pocket, just to remember the night by it...
*End Flashback*
I sighed as I put the box back under my bed. Then, I heard something towards my glass door that leads to my porch. I got up, fixing my light blue and white stripe pajamas a little and got onto the porch. Then I realized what the noise was when I stepped onto the porch and found a small pebble. I held onto it and looked down over my porch.
"Get up, sleeping beauty!" A girl with orange hair on a bike yelled from below. She held another pebble in her hand but dropped it when she realized she got my attention.
I smiled down warmly and yelled back down, "I'll be there in a minute!" I closed the porch and reached under my bed. I took out the cardboard box and placed the pebble inside, smiling at how everything fits perfectly. Yup, summer's definitely a good season.
I opened my eyes as the first light shined through my window and onto my face. I groaned for a little and turned towards the wall, away from the blinding ray. I tossed and turned for the next ten minutes, trying desperately to get comfortable. The summer heat is definitely getting to me. Even with the air conditioning on, my skin stuck to the sheets with sweat. I feel like I just came back from a game. That's one thing that summer is good for, non-stop fun. Of course, there's also another thing...
I turned and reached under my bed. I searched for a while before managing to grab a box. I smiled as I lifted up an old cardboard box onto my bed. I took off the cover and stared at an old, beaten red hat inside. Yes, summer is definitely good for another thing...
*Flashback*
"Next!" my coach yelled. His shouts always sent shivers down my back, but I stood as straight as ever. If not, I'd be taken out of the next game. Our whole team stood in a straight line with our backs straight as a wooden board while our coach called out for the next person in line for try-outs. It seemed like an awfully long line since everyone wanted to be on the glorious boy soccer team who won championship for three years in a row.
As we stood there with sweat on our brows and dry tongues, we'd decided that even the weather is against us today. It's way too hot to just stand here. The sun's heat caused our backs to sweat so hard our jerseys stuck to our backs. Our knees threatened to give in and just collapse but the tension wave that the coach sent out made our knees lock, unable to move.
"NEXT!" my coach yelled even louder. He's getting impatient so someone better come up soon. Just then, a kid in a pair of red shorts and white and red stripe shirt stepped up to face the loud demon. The kid had on a matching red hat to block out the light and to keep a few pieces of light orange hair in place. The coach urged him to take it off, but he insisted to keep it on.
The audition continued as the mysterious kid scored a net every try with our goalie who happens to be the best in the district. Our coach was impressed at the ability he had as he blocked every single kick from the net. I waited impatiently for my turn as I felt the sun begin to burn my already tanned skin.
"Kamiya!" I heard him call. Without any hesitation, I quickly ran to face him. Five soccer balls were lined up in front of me in a straight line. I stared into the kid's fiery red eyes for a second, acknowledging the challenger. Then, with a grunt, I kicked the ball as hard as I could and to my dismay, he grabbed the ball in his hands and held onto it. With a smile, I tried again. The strength and agility of this new kid exhilarated me. I could tell that we both shared the same passion for the sport.
After kicking the last ball, which he blocked expertly like the others, the coach blew his ear-piercing whistle. We all came together as he announced that he made the team. To our surprising, he shook his head with a smile on his face. He took of his hat and threw it at me. I caught it and then looked up. A mat of shoulder length orange hair glistened in the sun. Our jaws all hung when we realized that he was actually a she!
She walked off and left us hanging. Even the coach was speechless. Then, realizing that I was still holding her hat, I ran down the street after her. When I finally reached her, I tapped her on the shoulder and she swiftly turned around, her orange hair hitting my face with full force. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said in a soft voice.
I shook my head and just handed her the red hat. She looked at me for a second and then smiled. "No, you can keep it." I blushed under her smile and looked down. I looked up to say thank you but saw that she had already begun to walk in the other direction.
"Wait!" I called out. "What's your name?" For some reason, I was really anxious to meet her.
She turned around swiftly for a second and screamed out, "Sora Takenouchi!" Then, she was pushed back into the crowd and I was left standing there, clutching onto the red hat.
*End Flashback*
My smile widened as I remembered how embarrassed I was at first to have the girl smile at me. I looked up at the white ceiling and sighed. Then, I took out a bundle of knotted, blood stained bandages. I laid there, waiting for another sweet memory to creep it's way into my head.
*Flashback*
"There," she said as she tied a knot with the bandages. I looked strangely at the bandages on my arm and then at her. They didn't look much like bandages, more like a pile of white material carelessly placed on my left forearm. "So I'm not the best nurse in the world, too bad." In the dark light of the cave seemed to have revealed a brush of crimson creeping on her face.
"No, I didn't mean that." I said, mentally kicking myself for embarrassing her. "Thank you, Sora."
"No problem. Now," she stood up from the dirty ground and brushed off her jeans. "Let's find a way out of this dump." I nodded and jumped up from my awkward sitting position. The bandage had already slipped off my arm but I made sure she didn't see. It would've embarrassed her even further to know that her handiwork didn't even last for five minutes. Slowly and quietly, I tucked the bandage into my pocket while trying to keep up the pace.
*End Flashback*
I sighed when I took out a dried white daisy carefully. I had pressed it so it stayed in mint condition. The white petals have become fragile and stiff. Still, it remained its beauty.
*Flashback*
I waited patiently after ringing the doorbell to the Takenouchi residence. I had on a fresh, clean suit that I had to borrow from a friend. This was Sora and my first formal. We're going as friends though, nothing more. That's why I'm not fussing over anything. I'd assumed that it'll be bored tonight anyway.
When the door swung open, I turned around to face the greeter. There she stood, with her orange hair up in a bun and a delicate silver headband in the front. She had on a long, sleeveless, pale red dress. I stared for a couple of seconds and closed my gaping mouth. I must've looked like an idiot. Then, I offered her my arm and smiled one of my charming grins, "Shall we?" She took my arm and we walked towards my black convertible.
When we got in front of the school, we could hear the loud music from outside. From the windows, we could see colorful lights flashing everywhere. She began to walk towards the entrance when I called out to her from behind. "Wait, here." Then, I picked a delicate white daisy and tucked in behind her ear. She bent her knees a little to make it easier for me to do the job. It's not everyday a guy like me does a girls' hair. Her eyes traveled to my hands as I intertwined the stem with pieces of her hair. "There, perfect." She smiled at me and kissed me on the cheek. I felt my own face boil. Making sure she doesn't notice, I picked another daisy and gently put it in my pocket, just to remember the night by it...
*End Flashback*
I sighed as I put the box back under my bed. Then, I heard something towards my glass door that leads to my porch. I got up, fixing my light blue and white stripe pajamas a little and got onto the porch. Then I realized what the noise was when I stepped onto the porch and found a small pebble. I held onto it and looked down over my porch.
"Get up, sleeping beauty!" A girl with orange hair on a bike yelled from below. She held another pebble in her hand but dropped it when she realized she got my attention.
I smiled down warmly and yelled back down, "I'll be there in a minute!" I closed the porch and reached under my bed. I took out the cardboard box and placed the pebble inside, smiling at how everything fits perfectly. Yup, summer's definitely a good season.