Chapter 1- Musings

Sendoh, Akira was walking along the corridors of his school, Ryonan. He was wearing his uniform, a blue polo, underneath it was a white shirt neatly tucked-in. His pants were a color of blue, same shade as his polo. His book bag was on his left hand while his gym bag was on the right. He was slowly walking towards his next class, Biology. He was taking his time observing the sea of students swarming around the busy corridors. As usual, different types of students flocked the area. The intellectual ones were seated on the floors, discussing books and other "boring" stuffs. The preppy ones or those who belonged to the high average class of society were talking about some of the latest trends in the fashion and technology arena, the girls were as usual; flaunting girlish magazines and giggling about something they've read about. And then, there were the fan girls. Fan girls also came in different shapes and sizes. Some of them were thin, fat, beautiful, ugly, sexy, artistic, intelligent and well, stupid. They were the people who elevated them, the athletes, to school. Those people were the ones responsible for their so-called fame and persona. They were the ones who gave them the popularity, the name, support and most of all; they were the ones who took away his sought-after freedom. They chased, they clawed, they ran, they bit, they persisted, they hit and they hit hard; those were the things he had proven overtime. In his years of playing high school ball, Sendoh had taken the theory that fan girls won't stop at anything for them to get what they wanted in the first place. And so, he had developed certain traits that helped him go on with his usual life. He acted like a happy-go-lucky person who doesn't give a damn about anything besides basketball. It helped him shield his emotions, hid his deepest feelings and it helped him to exist without people bothering the hell out of him.

Smiles. Waves. Smiles. It was a ritual after he became the ace player of Ryonan. When Ito, Kenji graduated this year everything went on Sendoh's way. His coach noticed the changes in his game and thus making him the next ace player of the team. But still, Sendoh didn't feel content. He was burning inside; he wanted to show everyone that there was more to him than his predecessor, Ito-san. He wanted to be different. 'I can do better than Ito-san' he thought. He was still walking towards his next class when he over heard something that caught his attention.

He stopped at mid-step, searched for the owner of the voice that spoke those words. Words that made his heart beat wild. "Have you heard? Ito-san's girl friend enrolled here in Ryonan?" a brunette, with shoulder length hair told her companion in a "whisper".

"Oh." The other girl replied, "Really?"

"Ah," the brunette smiled with satisfaction, happy that she was the one who heard the rumor first. " Yes, she is studying here. She's a first year student. She's in 1-B."

"Is she pretty?" the companion asked, her eyes mischievous in a way. Her lips pursed into a thin line. She was eagerly waiting for the answer.

"Iye," the girl replied, "She looks so simple, even I wouldn't take a second look at her."

"What?!" the companion exclaimed.

"It's true." The brunette assured the other girl.

"How in the world did she manage to get Ito-san's attention?" the girl wickedly asked the brunette in front of her.

"I don't know." The brunette answered, clueless.

He smiled, another mysterious smile. After he heard the conversation, Sendoh continued on with his flight to his next class. 'So, look who decided to study here' he thought.

Sendoh's class flew by like a gust of wind in a hot dessert. They were dismissed early on due to some meeting that was attended by their teacher. Immediately, he ran as fast as he could to get to the gymnasium where their basketball practice was being held.

Toaka-sensei was being his usual self. The grumpy middle-aged man was being the mentor that he was. He made them do a lot of things. Their calisthenics were harder than usual and their tune-up games with each other were rougher. It concentrated more on their man-to-man defense. It almost drained their energy but Sendoh, Akira was nowhere near tired. He was very upbeat. His movements were very graceful. His speed was unmatched by anyone. His adrenaline was at its peak. The smile on his face was mischievous and conniving at the same time.

'Need to show her what I'm made of' Sendoh thought.

He hasn't stopped thinking about her all day. She was the constant thought that kept him up all day. He was very attentive at everything that was happening in his surroundings, observing everyone that came into his way, hoping that he would bump to her. He was almost too sensitive, cautious at everyone's business. He wanted to hear anything about her. He was excited, yes, very excited indeed. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he first realized that he had special feelings for her. His thoughts ran about everything that has got to do with her. It energized him, the very thought of her. He let his mind drift over her, the special girl, that caught his heart a year ago and it put a smile on his face.

"Sendoh-san!" Koshino, Hiroaki called on to his peer. The timer was about to expire and he had called on to his friend to deliver the final blow. The spike-haired boy looked-up to him. He was anticipating the pass when the buzzer called out its last siren of the game.

"Game Finished" the referee announced.

"Nice game Sendoh-san!" Hikoichi congratulated the panting player. The game just ended with Sender's team winning the concluded game. Again, he was the top player of the game. He had scored a total of 15 baskets and 10 rebounds.

They were all congratulating him when he suddenly saw a flash of black hair. He knew who it was but the mobbed of players hindered his view of his 'princess'

'I need to see her' he thought. He patiently waited for him team mates to part. One by one, all of them started retreating and made their own way to the lockers. He looked everywhere, scanning the vicinity with keen eyes. 'Kuso! Where is she?' he had lost her again. She was this near, this near.

'When can I see you again?' Slowly, he walked, readying himself for a bath and a lonesome walk home.

He finished his bath in an instant. He was too preoccupied to enjoy the chatter of his friends. The yearning of seeing her was consuming him. He has become restless. He even declined the offer Koshino made after they won the tune-up game.

Step by step, Sendoh made his way out of the school grounds. He was walking with his head bowed down and shoulders slumped. He did not notice the pen that fell from his book bag. He just continued his journey until a voice called his attention. "Anjou, Sendoh-san!' a female voice called out to him.

'Another fangirl' he thought. He had decided to ignore the voice when he heard a familiar name.

"Chidori-chan! That's Sendoh-san. He is the Ace player of Ryonan." The voice hurriedly whispered but was enough for him to hear it.

He stopped at mid-step. His heart was beating fast. Tiny beads of perspiration trailed his forehead down. Slowly, he turned around. His heart stopped at that moment. All else did not matter as he was face to face with her.

He took a step back. Slowly inching himself towards her direction.

"Suzuki-san…" it was not a question.

She looked at him. Blue orbs were directly piercing his eyes. Suddenly, a shadow of a smile crept it way to her angelic face. She gave way an expression of relief and it made his heart burn.

"Sendoh-san, how are you?"