Spring was fading away quickly, was being replaced by the hot sunshine of summer. It had been four months since Sumire first studied at Shoyo, and things were going well for her. The Inter-Highs had already started, though Team Shoyo hadn't seen any action yet. Yet. They would soon be having a match against Takezato High, and that would be that Friday. That forced the team into a flurry of action, trying to practice as hard as they could, practices that sometimes lasted well into the night on weekends.
But that wasn't what occupied Sumire's mind most of the time while she was on the court. It was the puzzle that Toru had presented to her a month ago. I wonder who could that guy be, she wondered as she walked down the school halls of the freshman wing, heading towards her locker.
Ever since Toru had mentioned that to her, she had always attempted to figure out just who was the "suitor" that he spoke about. She had closely observed the guys all the time, trying to see anything that she could vaguely link to a guy who was trying to court her. However, all things taken in consideration, she couldn't tell whether one of the guys of the team really DID plan to court her since she had NEVER encountered that before. Like she told her cousin, she wouldn't know a suitor even if he danced naked in front of her.
She blushed slightly at the thought of that. Of course, maybe she WOULD recognize a suitor if he danced naked in front of her, but that was just an analogy. That would NEVER happen in real life.
She shook her head as she opened her locker. Jeez Sumire, you're letting all of this go to your head. You should focus on other things, like your schoolwork that is just too plain easy and your job as manager. She pulled her locker door open, and felt her eyes slowly widen at what she saw.
Three white tulips – her favorite flowers in her favorite color for that flower – were placed in a diagonal angle inside her locker, tied together with a white ribbon. To this was attached a plain card with no decoration on it.
Nani? How did it get in my locker? Sumire slowly took out the flowers from the locker, and flipped open the card. It read:
Sumire,
Tulips are for good luck, ne? I hope that you have good luck today, Sumire. Ja!
~ Your Admirer
"Sumire-chan, what's that?"
Sumire nearly jumped, and turned to see Ayame, Reiko and Yuki, her closest friends in her class. "Ah, minna, you surprised me!"
Yuki nodded towards the flowers. "Where did you get them, Sumire-chan?"
"Oh, these? I found them in my locker."
Ayame's eyes narrowed. "Demo, that's impossible! How could have someone gotten access to your locker if they didn't know the combination?" The lockers that were used in Shoyo had the safe-type locks.
"Toru-kun knows my locker combination," Sumire said quietly. "Maybe he gave it to this so-called secret admirer of mine."
Reiko laughed then as they headed towards their classroom. "Do you think that Hanagata-sempai is setting you up with someone?"
"I believe so," Sumire said with an amused nod. "I don't know what's going on with Toru-kun. He seems a little…eager to pair me off with this mystery person. If I didn't know any better I'd have to say that he was trying to set me up with Fujima-sempai!!"
This drew sighs and blushes from her companions. "I wouldn't really mind that," Reiko said quietly. "Fujima-sempai is VERY good-looking. Almost half the girls in this school have crushes on him!"
Sumire had to laugh in agreement as she sat down in her seat. "If there is something I learned from my friends in the Philippines, it is that we should NEVER judge a guy by his looks. There's a saying that goes: 'Look for an ugly boy, because you won't have problems with him'."
Reiko, Yuki and Ayame laughed then. "Is that practical advice?" Reiko asked between fits of giggles.
"I suppose so. Some of my friends in the Philippines have boyfriends who are not really that handsome, but they're extremely nice to their girlfriends, and my friends don't have to worry about their boyfriends being less than loyal to them," Sumire answered with a shrug. "I suppose that having a boyfriend who is both handsome and faithful is a wonderful thing, but since the world doesn't work that way, I guess that it's something we have to learn to deal with."
"Or," Ayame added with a smirk, "we can learn to live without boyfriends at all. Happily single, ne?"
That earned much laughter on their group's part, which immediately dissolved into silence when the teacher walked into the classroom. They broke up to go to their individual seats, and the rest of the day proceeded like usual, but with the prime exception that Sumire's mind was elsewhere, and that she was constantly fingering the stems of the tulips that had made a mysterious appearance in her locker that morning.
* * *
"TORU-KUN!!! You have a LOT of explaining to do right around now!!!"
Toru turned to the entrance of the gym in time to see Sumire come stomping over to him, something white and green clutched in her hand. "Nani? You seem all in a tizzy today, Mire-chan." More so than usual, actually.
His little cousin's voice was so calm it was frightening. "Did you give my locker combination away to someone, Toru-kun? Like, say, that secret admirer you keep telling me about?"
Huh? "Why, what happened Mire-chan?"
"THIS happened." With that, Sumire brought out a small bouquet of white tulips, still quite fresh, though the leaves were starting to droop a little already. "I found these INSIDE my locker. Now, since no one but you and I know WHAT my locker combination is, I am beginning to think that YOU gave away the combination to someone else, otherwise known as my secret admirer."
Toru snickered. In some perverse corner of his mind, he liked seeing Sumire in the state she was in right then. He loved it when she was all in a huff about something that she didn't know about or had no idea of. "Hmmm…what if I did?"
He was surprised when Sumire's shoulders slumped forward, and she calmed down considerably. "Oh? Okay then." With that, she walked off, and sat down at her table.
What was that about, Toru wondered as he stared at Sumire. He was expecting something a little more violent than that, like her trying to tackle him to the floor in spite of his obvious height and strength advantage. It's like she suddenly mellowed out or something…
Of course, he hadn't lied when he said that he gave away her locker combination to someone. In fact, that "someone" happened to be sitting right beside Sumire as of the moment, like always, chatting with her as usual, and even going so far as to tease her about the tulips.
Good call with the tulips, though, Toru thought then. I never told Fujima that Sumire's favorite flowers were tulips. Smart of him. Maybe he thought roses weren't really Sumire's kind of thing… Which, in truth, were not. Sumire found them too delicate, having the same opinion for white lilies. And that was the LAST impression she wanted to leave with other people. She might have looked like a fragile doll in certain cases, but she was certainly NOT like that. And that was why she gave preference to such flowers as the tulip, the tiger lily, the daisy, the hibiscus, and all manner of tropical orchids.
However, what truly amused Toru to no end was the fact that Sumire still had no idea about what was going on. She's as in the dark as I expected her to be. Sumire was a smart girl in her own right, but strangely enough, she hadn't figured out anything yet, even when Fujima was becoming less and less discreet about his affection for her.
Just then, Fujima signaled for all of them to gather together, and Toru moved closer, knowing that their coach and captain had news for them.
"The Inter-Highs start this Friday," Fujima said, his voice quite calm, but his eyes showed the excitement he tried to keep from bubbling to the surface. "And according to the stats, which Sumire has been so carefully recording for us," he glanced with a smile at Sumire, "we stand ready to sweep any team that dares to stand in our way. Of course, the true test of our strength will be our match against Kainan, but until then, no other team will be able to stand against us.
"However, I do not want this to be a reason for all of you to start slacking. Rather, I want this to give you more motivation to strive harder and train more. We can be Number One this year…but only if we do our best."
Toru grinned at his best friend. And that's just one of the many things I truly envy about Fujima. Aside from his inherent talent in the game, he certainly knows what to say to get people motivated. He chuckled to himself as a strange thought entered his head. With that kind of charisma, he could get into politics with no trouble at all!
Practice began then, and surprisingly, Fujima decided to join up with them. No matter, Toru thought. As Fujima jogged up to him, he grinned at his rather diminutive captain. "It seems like you got Mire-chan's attention there. It was amazing how you figured out the thing with the tulips. I never told you that those were one of her favorite flowers."
Fujima chuckled, though his face DID turn an interesting shade of red. "I know. She told me everything. It's funny, how I have to hear everything as though I had no part in it. Actually, it was pretty hard trying to cover everything up." He glanced at her momentarily. "I hope I didn't hurt her feelings or anything. I was teasing her quite a bit about the flowers to cover up…"
"She'll get over it," Toru answered with a shrug. "One of the things I admire about Mire-chan is that she has a tough hide. I don't know HOW it goes in the schools in the Philippines, but whatever the case may be, she came out of it with a strong resistance to teasing and backstabbing. All the better, I think."
Fujima sighed. "Hai, I know. It still makes me wonder though…" He grinned. "There are a lot of secrets to your cousin, Toru."
"Fine then, it's your job to unravel them."
"I'll need a lot of luck on that one, though…"
"The way Mire-chan's acting, it shouldn't be too long till you do."
AUTHOR'S OOC:
Harle sighs: And so it continues…
Chibi-Fujima looks puzzled: What's that about the schools in the Philippines?
Maia laughs: Oh THAT!! Well, in the Philippines, school, even in the elementary levels, is vicious and competitive. Everyone is trying to drag down everybody else. This gives rise to backstabbers and a well-oiled rumor mill. True friends tend to be very rare, and when you do find them, you tend to lose them just as quickly too, cause you're separated in one way or another. Studying in the Philippines not only means graduating early, but also getting out with a thick hide.
Harle nods: Hai, hai, that's very true. The smarter you are, the more people want to tear you apart. The prettier you are, the higher you climb in the "social ladder". That is SO not good. I mean, the only asset I have is my BRAIN, for crying out loud!!!! Does it mean that if I'm not pretty I can NEVER make it through school?!?!?!
Chibi-Sumire attempts to calm down a ranting Harle: Maa, maa Harle-sama!! No need to get all worked up!
Maia sighs: Anyway, since my friend seems a little…incapable, let's go on to the next chapter, ne?