A.N. - I AM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG! If you are reading this before December 17th, a miracle has just occurred. My finals are stressing me out big time, and I keep trying to work on this, it just isn't going real well. However, winter break will be upon me and writing will be a lot easier. So basically the point of this is, 1. School sucks, but you should still go, and 2. Thank you for waiting patiently and reading this story. I love you all! sobs
A.N. 2- So you are thinking, "She didn't post this during break! That LIAR!" Yes, I was wrong, but justified. I got a full time job over break and didn't have time to eat dinner sometimes, let alone work on this. But now that school has started again and I am settled into my new classes, updates will be more regular. Two weeks tops for the next chapter, I promise. I hope you like this chapter!
Denial Isn't Just a River in Egypt…
Tai hadn't been able to sleep the night before, but he was still wide awake. Not even the girls' thoughts were getting to him today. This was the day of the semi-finals against Tokyo High, and Tai was ready to win.
Sora had talked with him all throughout chemistry, almost as excited as he was. Tai felt a lot more confident around Sora lately, as she had stopped thinking about Matt all the time. Matt and Sora were finally hanging out around each other with only a little bit of uneasiness now. It was like old times now, where him and Sora were best friends, able to talk about everything. And every now and then, when Sora thought about how muscular he was or how great his hair looked, his heart beat picked up.
It was now the end of school and in two hours one of the most important days of his life would be here. If they beat Tokyo High, they would be in the finals, something the school had never done before. Not to mention scouts for minor and major leagues would be watching the games.
Tai's stomach turned over at this thought. He had always wanted to become a professional soccer player. This would be his only in. Tai remained lost in this train of thought for a while. He finally snapped out of it when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
"Taichi? Can you hear me?" Mimi asked.
"Huh?" was Tai's brilliant answer.
Mimi stood on her tip toes and gazed into his ear.
"No, it doesn't look like there is too much ear wax," she joked. Her soft breath tickled his ear and felt good on his neck.
Tai pushed back a blush at this thought and said, "Ha, ha. For your information, I was getting in the zone."
Mimi rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her T shirt. Tai, who had just seen her for the first time today, read what was printed on it.
"Taichi is #1...Score a goal for me…" Tai smiled at her mischievously. "I didn't even think you knew what a goal is."
"For your information, I happen to be very sports oriented. That, and I asked Ken. At least he didn't tease me about it," she said, pouting.
Tai smiled at her. Whatever tension there was between them had disappeared after the talk on the balcony, and the past few days had been very pleasant. He smiled, his nerves a little relaxed that his friends were rooting for him. Then, he realized with a jolt, that on top of everything else, they would be watching him too. God, what if he biffed everything, and all his friends saw it?
Poor baby, he looks so nervous…
Mimi put a hand on his arm. "Tai, you'll be great. I know you will."
Tai looked in her eyes and saw that she was telling the absolute truth. But then again, when didn't she? Tai smiled back.
"Thanks, Meems. I'll score you a goal, I promise."
Ken and Davis walked up to the duo.
"We gotta go to the locker room now Tai," Ken said. Looking at Mimi he said, "I think that everyone else is waiting for you over there."
They looked down the hall where the rest of the gang waved. Mimi gave all three of them a smile.
"We'll be cheering for you!"
Mimi skipped in unsuppressed giddiness down the hall where she put an arm around Sora. The two girls turned around and waved to Tai. At that moment, he didn't think about which one he was happier about cheering for him, just that they were.
Nine teens of various ages settled into the bleachers at the soccer stadium. Joe, kind enough to wait there to save seats for the rest, had seats right near the field and saved them enough room so that they weren't cramped together by the crowd around them.
"Oooo! This is gonna be great! I hope that they win!" Kari squealed.
"The tension here is so great…" Yolie commented, scanning the crowd of anxious high schoolers and parents.
"Yes, it is. I did some calculations on my computer, and it seems like we will win, but just narrowly," Izzy commented, typing some more on his trusty laptop.
Mimi frowned at him.
"That computer can't predict the future!"
"The future is simply a mathematical formula using random number sequences and probably event functions. I'm over 99 percent sure that I will be right!" Izzy explained.
Mimi rolled her eyes.
"Whatever."
Sora frowned at him.
"I can't believe you brought your laptop. We are here to watch our friends play a very intense game!"
Izzy shrugged.
"I always bring it with me."
"Yeah," Joe added, "and Matt brought his guitar too."
"Hey! Why are you dragging me into this too? I had practice during lunch today! I can't just leave it random places and hope no one steals it! Anyway, Joe, you brought your homework with you…"
"Well, you know, medical school is very pressing and all…"
"The game is starting," Cody stated. Every one turned as players dressed in green took the field, Tai talking to each one as the took positions.
Here we go… Everyone thought together, leaning in to watch.
Forty-five minutes later, the mood had changed considerably.
Izzy was typing away rapidly, Joe was muttering to himself as he glanced over notes, as Cody would look at the page curiously and then at Joe. His odd study habits seemed to amuse him.
Matt was strumming his guitar absentmindedly as he and Mimi hummed a nonsensical song, harmonizing with each other. Yolie watched fascinated, smiling at her friends.
TK and Kari were playing goldfish with a pack of cards that Kari always carried around for occasions like this.
Only Sora was still engrossed in the game. She cheered loudly, and when not hearing her friends doing the same, turned to confront them.
"What are you all doing? Why aren't you paying attention! We are here to support our friends!"
Izzy rolled his eyes.
"Sora, we are eight points ahead. Tai and the others aren't even playing anymore. The third string is in."
"Still, Tai is their leader! He's the reason they are all playing so well! We need to cheer for his players!" Sora explained.
"Sora, just relax. They will win. We are happy for them. Just watch the rest of the game," TK said, laying down a pair of twos.
Sora looked them all over, and seeing that they weren't going to stop their current activities, snorted and went back to the game.
"She's wayyyyyy to intense about soccer…" Yolie mumbled.
"She has a lot of spirit and energy. You can't hold that against her. Not many people can have that kind of passion," Matt said, picking a chord.
Mimi watched him silently, head tilted to the side, as if she could see into his mind and saw something no one else did. She smiled mysteriously, then turned to Izzy.
"Hey, Izzy?"
He looked at her suspiciously.
"What?"
She smiled devilishly.
"So, you were 99 percent sure, were you? That it would be a 'close' game?"
Izzy blushed and mumbled, "What are you getting at?"
Mimi smiled brightly, flashing all of her teeth.
"Your computer was WRONG!" she squealed.
"I just messed up a sequence, that's all!" Izzy said indignantly.
Mimi shook her head. Yolie turned to Izzy.
"Did you factor in the other team's records?"
"Yep."
"Hmmm… Maybe it was a faulty equation due to a horizontal asymptote…"
Mimi interrupted them again.
"Doesn't matter, you two. You can't predict the future. So many choice are made, and not logically all the time, that to predict something is so tricky that not even one person can be sure what is in store for them in the upcoming minute. You just have to make good decisions and hope everything works out…," she trailed off, laying on her back on the bleacher, looking at the sky. She started humming again.
TK smiled at Mimi.
"Getting pretty deep on us there, Mimi."
She shrugged and continued staring and humming.
Everyone continued their previous activities, this time with Yolie trying to help Izzy fix his formula.
Matt strummed a few chords and looked at Mimi.
"I wish I knew how things would turn out. It could save a lot of potential pain."
Mimi continued staring at a cloud. Nodding her head, she whispered, "I do too."
Taichi, Davis and Ken intercepted their excited friends outside the locker room after the game. Everyone was throwing praise around so rapidly that the words blurred together, but Tai got the drift, and couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear. He looked over at Davis and Ken, and saw the same goofy smiles on their faces too.
"So, it's Kaibara High next, right? In the finals?" Yolie asked.
"Yep, a week from now. It won't be like today's game, though. They will be a lot tougher," Ken explained.
"Today's game should have been closer, but we psyched Tokyo High out. Kaibara High won't let us get into their heads like that. It will be very evenly matched," Tai added in.
"But still, you all did really well today! You scored three goals Tai!" Sora said excitedly.
"Well, I knew I was going to score at least one before I started, for Mimi. Couldn't let her down," Tai said, grinning happily at his friend.
Mimi looked surprised.
He remembered? Just for me…
The surprise slid off her face and was replaced with a slight blush and a pleased smile.
"Thank you, Tai."
"Hey, can I have a goal?" Kari asked tugging on his sleeve.
"Errr…Sure!"
"Then I want one too!"
"Me too!"
"Me, me, me!"
"Izzy, what are you going to do with a goal?"
"I think he wants to examine it and see if it will fix his computer program."
Everyone started laughing as Izzy glared at them. The group started explaining to Davis and Ken about the computer, but Tai was distracted when someone tapped him on the shoulder.
A young man, maybe in his mid twenties, held out his hand to Tai.
"Hello, I am Saki Ugani. I am a representative from Kyoto University. You are Taichi, correct?"
"Uh, yeah," Tai replied, shaking his hand. "Er, do college recruiters usually hang around locker rooms like this?"
The guy laughed, shaking his head.
"Only when they are trying to snag players for their soccer team," He answered good humouredly.
'Duh, Tai! The man is a scout!' Tai thought, mentally smacking himself.
"It is nice to meet you."
"Yes, I am glad I got to talk to you. I was really impressed with your game today, and I have heard great things about you this whole season. This is my card," The man said, giving Tai a business card with the Kyoto University logo on it and some phone numbers, "I'll be getting in touch with you after the finals next week. I've talked to your counselor and she has some information put together for you on our university. Take a look at it, and we'll talk later, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks!" Tai grinned as the man walked away. His very first scout! Playing soccer for a big university… Didn't they usually have scholarships for these types of things?…
"It's nice to know that you are appreciated, isn't it?" An older man's voice permeated Tai's head. He looked up to see a man with his hair slicked back and wearing a professional suit. While the university scout had looked like he was maybe a grad student and was relaxed, this man screamed success in the business world and was one that should be respected.
He smiled importantly at Tai. "I am Hadeski Taka. I represent a soccer team as well."
He handed Tai a card as well, with the initials JNT on them. "I'll be in touch with you after finals too. If everything goes well. Practice hard."
With that, the man walked away.
Tai stood speechless. Sora tapped his arm and he turned to his group of friends, who were watching him interestedly.
"What team was he from?" TK asked.
"JNT…" Tai mumbled, staring at the card in awe.
"JNT? But isn't that…?" Davis trailed off, tapping his chin.
" The Japan National Team! OH TAI!" Sora squealed.
Everyone started congratulating him, but all Tai could do was stare at the paper, happiness blocking out the rest of the world.
Tai and Sora walked down the hall toward Chemistry. Sora was chatting happily about the highlights of the game, but Tai couldn't consentrate.
'Sora, do want to go the movie this weekend? I heard that one movie is coming out…No, wait, uh, Sora are you busy on Saturday? I was thinking we could go to the park…God, I'm never going to be able to do this!' Tai yelled mentally.
Sora stopped in front of a window and Tai stopped to, wondering what she was looking at. Matt and Mimi were walking around outside, heading toward a class. Sora smiled happily.
"Tai, I'm so happy that Matt and me didn't ruin the group's friendship. I thought things would be awkward. But look! Matt and Mimi are getting along really well. I mean, if my ex-boyfriend and my best friend can be close like this, I think everyone else is fine too."
Tai smiled at her, then turned toward the window again, the smile fading to a frown that he didn't realize appeared. They sure seemed buddy-buddy down there, laughing as they walked. And Yolie had told him about their musical duet at his game, and how wonderful they had been together. They couldn't be a couple! It just wasn't right! It…
'I see you seem to care a lot about whom Mimi is interested in…I think you care a lot, honey…' the strange motherly woman's voice said inside his head.
"No I don't!" Tai said shortly. Sora looked at him strangely.
"What Tai?"
"Sora, will you go to the movies with me on Saturday?" He asked, still staring out the window.
"Sure! I mean, if you want to…"
Movies with Tai! Hmm, what is out in theaters…God, what will I wear?
'Take that, Mrs. Smarty-pants! I like Sora! And only Sora...' Tai thought triumphantly.
'Yeah, and the Titanic was unsinkable.' The voice answered back.
Tai started walking again, trying to ignore the voices of girls around him.
'I need to break this curse…'
So, not a lot of girl thinking in this one, and not a lot of Tai either. I just felt like putting the rest of the group in. The dynamics between them always make me laugh. Er, I really don't know anything about Japanese schools or soccer leagues, and nothing about names either. So everything is fictional, so if I made a mistake, well, sorry. I think it's pretty obvious where things are going, but you can never be too sure plot wise, so don't get to confident…
Please continue reading, and maybe throw in a review? They always get me pumped up and writing faster… (hint-hint)
