Chapter 2!
Disclaimer: Once again, I do not own Slam Dunk. Neither do I own any of its characters. :)
A/N: Thank you for your reviews in Chapter 1! It makes me feel great. I never really thought that readers might like the idea…so there. (You get me, right?) So I hope you'll like Chapter 2 too. :)
What's Happened So Far!Yuko Minamura is an ordinary student who always wished to live life any way but ordinary. She is also an avid basketball fan who watched the All-Star games of the season, where a very life-changing incident took place. Now, her life will never be ordinary again.
Yuko's POVToday's a Saturday. You won't believe what happened.
As I got up this morning, I was feeling okay. The incident that happened yesterday was all behind me. I think I got over it quite fast (I just slept on it). Anyways, I won't meet Sendoh's girlfriend again, right? And neither will I meet Sendoh himself. He's so famous; I bet he won't have the time to hang out in malls or parks just like ordinary teens (like me) do.
Ordinary. I've always detested that word. No, maybe not detested; that's too extreme. I've always disliked ordinary being associated in any way with me. Ask Eri and Chiharu if you don't believe me (they've been my classmates and friends ever since 1st grade). I dislike ordinary in every way. At home, when anybody enters my room, their first comment would be, "Ooh, unusual!" Or, "That's cool, where'd you get these kinds of stuff?" It's because my room is filled with not-common stuff. I don't want it to be an ordinary room.
At school, I always disassociate ordinary with me whenever I can. I bring unusual bags, use unusual pens and pencils, make my projects stand out among the others, and all those other ways you can think of. Sometimes, I even get humiliated in the class in the most unusual ways. :)
When I hang out with my friends, I don't wear the usual get up (picture jeans, a shirt, and sneakers). I also don't shop in the usual stores and eat the usual food (I mean, I don't eat what my friends eat all the time). Sometimes, my friends even get cross with me because of my outlook towards 'ordinary'.
Okay, back to reality. I got up this morning and went down to eat breakfast, only to find out that Mum and Dad had left early. They left a note posted on the refrigerator. It was quite long. It read: 'Yuko, honey, we're sorry we didn't say bye to you. We don't want to wake you up after what happened last night. We'll be coming home late because we're going to Yokohama to visit a friend. If we don't come home tonight, expect us later in the afternoon tomorrow. We might be sleeping over in our friend's house. Don't worry; we left food enough to feed you for 2 days. Some are in the fridge, some in the microwave, and some in the oven. However, if that still isn't enough, we left you money (under the ref). Don't spend if not needed ok? Take care of yourself! Love lots, Mum and Dad.' Okay, that was quite long.
I checked out how much money they left under the ref. 350 yen. Okay…what's up with them? Oh, never mind. I opened the fridge and took out a bag of bagels and some cream cheese. After I was done eating, I went up to my room and made my bed. I'm a very neat person too, by the way. :) After that I brushed my hair, then my teeth. Then I decided to check the mailbox (I was expecting a letter from a friend in Hokkaido).
Imagine my surprise as I opened the door! Media people were swarming on my doorstep and flashing their cameras and flooding me with their questions (which were mainly about how I was related to Sendoh). My eyes widened in shock as I realized that I was only wearing my sleepwear – which was an old, oversized black Metallica shirt (which came from my dad) and pink mini boxer shorts! And I hadn't even washed my face! I immediately banged the door shut and locked it. I'm glad the windows and curtains were closed too (and that was probably the reason why I hadn't noticed them earlier).
I went up to my room again to gather my thoughts. I thought I was over the incident, but I guess I wasn't. I cried because I was confused and scared and I felt deprived. I was also angry. How dare they wait for me to come out – without even ringing the doorbell! What if I had history of having heart attacks? They could've killed me! I tried to call Chiharu but her line was busy. When I called Eri, her sister said she wasn't home. Oh great. Where are friends when you need them?
So I went online, only to find out that none of my friends (in the Yahoo! Messenger) were online. So I did the usual stuff – browse, surf, play, email, and search. Speaking of search, I wanted to see if Fujima had some cute pics taken from yesterday's all-star games (I miss his sexy brown eyes), so I went to the official website of the Kanagawa all-star games. I went to the news section and saw the article about yesterday's game. After the article were listed two other links related to the game, which were "Fukuda's New Romance" and "The Mystery Girl: Who is She?" I had a strange feeling about the second one so I clicked the link to it.
Imagine my surprise when I saw MY face as the main photo of that article! Well, I had to admit, I was photogenic :) I froze in my seat. I couldn't believe I was in an article of the official website of the all-star games! And I didn't mean what I said in a positive way. In the photo, my eyes were wide in shock, and my lips were pale, and I obviously looked confused. I guess that was the time when the media people swarmed at me when I was going out of the coliseum.
Oh, forget the picture. I decided to read the article. It said something about me a very controversial fan. Hmm, that was nice, a very controversial fan huh:) Anyways, my name was in hyperlink format (you know, it's underlined and once you point on it the cursor turns into a hand with the index finger pointed and you can click on my name). I was curious so I decided to see what they had in the hyperlink. And guess what? After I clicked my name, I saw my student information in there! How could my school give away information just like that? It showed my ID picture (well, I must admit I look quite pretty in there, just kidding) and my full name, my date of birth, the class I belong to, etcetera, and etcetera. Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening.
I went back to the article and I read the part of what Sendoh's girlfriend had to say about me. I found out that her name was Akiko Kisoji. These were her exact words: "I really don't know. All I know is she's an obsessed fangirl of my boyfriend. And she's probably a bitch too. I mean, you know, how could anybody not hate her? I bet all of Sendoh's other fan girls hate her too. All I can say is, she's just another trying-hard-feeling-famous fan. To that bitch, whatever her name is, I'm sorry, but she just won't be able to snag my boyfriend."
I can't believe her! Oh my God…this is so not happening. I mean, I'm not even a fan of Sendoh! Right? Then I get to be called a bitch on the Internet. I'm really gonna cry now, I promise. This isn't my fault, right? Right? Of course it isn't! I'm just an ordinary basketball fan watching the all-star games of the season! And I'm not a bitch! I'm only a girl who's real. A girl who's ordinary.
And for once in my life, I wished I were only ordinary. Unbelievable? Believe it.
To cheer myself up, I turned on my AV Rack and set it in 'Random'. I didn't have any song in mind to listen to in particular anyway. And guess what turned up? 'Anything but Ordinary' by Avril Lavigne.
Is it enough to love? Is it enough to breathe?
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed…
Is it enough to die? Somebody save my life
I'd rather be
Anything but ordinary please.
Oh great. Just what I needed huh? Somebody save my life…what a coincidence. Yeah, right. Whatever. Arrggh! I don't need any sarcasm today. Anyways, I decided to visit my cousin. Her name's Kyoko Minamura and she's older than me. She's the one I'm closest to among my cousins, and I guess she could console me. Anyways, I could reach her by train, and Mum and Dad left money. Speaking of them, where were they when I need them?
So I dressed up. I had a hard time picking out clothes because if you remember, my taste in clothes is not ordinary, and most of the time I get noticed wherever my friends and me hang out because of what I wear. I have a saying that goes, "You are what you wear." Anyways, in the end I decided to wear the most ordinary skirt and a Doraemon shirt. And instead of doing my hair in a not-ordinary style, I let it all loose. I'd do anything to not get noticed by the media people again. Who knows, I might run into one on the way.
I waited 'til the coast was clear (you know, the media people not hanging around my house anymore). When they were gone, I grabbed my bag (the most ordinary bag I could find), which contained my mobile phone, money, a print-out of the article about me on the website (I'm going to show it to Kyoko), a copy of the latest magazine about J-Rock and J-Pop stars, and my homework. I haven't done any of it yet. I also wore a cap so nobody would notice me. Just imagine how I look, wearing an ordinary shirt and skirt and a cap. So ordinary. But I had no choice, so I locked the house and left.
Thankfully nobody noticed me on my way to the train station. I think I looked like a paranoid; I kept checking if anyone looked at me in a different way. You never know who the media people are from the ordinary citizens anyway. So when I got in the train, I sat down and removed my cap and placed it in my bag. If nobody noticed me on the streets, who would notice me here, right? I felt safe in the train. I took out the magazine in my bag and began reading. I found out the latest scoop about Hyde (of the band L'arc en Ciel) and his family. Hmm…it also says that Judy and Mary has a chance of banding together again…that would be nice. Utada Hikaru has a new love life? Interesting. And the news goes on and on…
As I was browsing the magazine, I half noticed a couple of tall guys seating opposite me (coz in the train there are two rows of seats facing opposite each other right?) and one of them had a weird spiky hairdo. I couldn't really see who it was, so what I did was I covered my face with the magazine and left some space for my eyes to see who it is. By the way, there were four of them, and they were all tall. No, actually, one wasn't as tall as the rest of them. The guy with the weird hairdo kept cracking jokes (which I must admit are quite corny) and the other three heartily laughed at them. So anyways, I started figuring out who the guy was.
And guess who it was? Who else, but Akira Sendoh of Ryonan! That's right, he's the only tall guy I know with the weird, spiky hairdo. I should've known! As I kept looking at him, I realized I shouldn't have checked him out at all. Why? Because he became suspicious and started looking at me too! I covered my face with the magazine. I could feel my face growing hot! Then I realized that covering my face would make him more suspicious, so I put down the magazine and acted like I was reading it normally. Then I bowed my head a bit and made my all my hair fall in front of my face to cover it (picture Sadako) so he wouldn't see my face. Good thing I haven't cut my hair off yet (I was actually planning to cut it short one of these days).
As I had my head bowed down, I tried to catch a glimpse of the other guys he was with. I sank lower in my seat as I recognized that the faces belonged to the other basketball guys! The two other tall guys were Fukuda and Hanagata. And who should be the short guy but Fujima! Oh my God, I don't believe this. But I really have to admit, Fujima is sexy any angle you look at him. :) Then the train announcer mentioned the next stop (which was mine), so I got ready and put on my cap again. I made sure that the cap was lowered over my eyes.
As the train got to my stop, I was surprised to see that Sendoh and the guys were also leaving! I mean, we were both getting off at the same stop! And the worst thing happened; they were also exiting through the same door as mine. I was all panicky so I forgot to shut my bag. My hands were shaking as well, and as soon as I got off the train, I dropped my bag. Oh no. How clumsy could I get?
I started picking up the stuff from my bag. In my head I was thinking, "Go away now Sendoh, just go! Shoo! Away! Off you go! Go now!" Then someone helped me pick up the rest of my stuff. I could tell it was a guy's hand; it looked strong and masculine and white. And what else should he pick up but the article I printed out! And my face was there! Why the article, of all my other stuff? He could've just picked up the phone or my homework… And you know what else happened? My cap fell off, revealing my face. I quickly grabbed the cap, but it slipped off my hands. The guy with the sexy hands who was helping me was still looking at the article. Then when he saw the cap I dropped, he reached for it and didn't give it to me at once. (Big meanie!)
I had to get my cap! It's the only thing that would conceal my identity. So I courageously (but unsurely) faced him and said politely, "Thank you for the help…may I please have the article and my cap back?" as I realized who the guy was. Argh! I really hate how fate works out for me!
Nope, it wasn't Sendoh; it was Fujima. Then he said, "I knew it! Hey, Akira, here's the girl from the game yesterday!" NOOOOOO! Oh no, I'm doomed. He continued to call Sendoh. I pleaded, "Please, let me have it back…I'm in hurry." He replied, "Just wait, Miss Minamura, Sendoh has something to tell you…" Oh. My. God. He just called me by my last name. Miss Minamura, that's sweet. And his voice is deep and sexy. But at that time I couldn't grab the opportunity to enjoy his calling me by my last name; I was really worried.
So you know what I did? I snatched my cap and the article from Fujima (sexy boy) and ran as fast as I could. Though that was quite stupid, I had no choice. I could hear Sendoh calling me to stop. No! I could not face him. What if there were media people around? I bet they'll write up something to taint my name again. And I bet I wouldn't be able to stand that. And just then, I was so consumed in my thoughts that I didn't notice someone in front of me! Someone, particularly Fukuda (Mr. Kiss 1). He stopped me and said, "Just give Akira the chance to tell you what he wants to say, okay?" I was so petrified by the tone of his voice that I did so.
But at that moment, I was really confused and scared that I broke down. (I always cry when I don't know what to do, and that's one thing I hate about myself.) Fujima was in beside me at that time already. He said, "Hey, are you all right?" This was all too much for me. People were buzzing all around us and I bet some of them are media people. I could feel that cameras were snapping at us and more rumors were quickly spreading. And the thought of it made me burst out more tears. The last thing I saw was Hanagata's worried expression, then everything went black and I closed my eyes.
…30 million years later (joke)
I was so freaked out when I woke up. Imagine seeing Sendoh's face looking over me with that guilty-freaky-worried-look the moment I opened my eyes. I later found out that I was in a nearby lying-in clinic. Sendoh told me I fainted in the train station (which freaked me out even more).
Fukuda bought me Taiwanese bubble tea from a nearby coffee shop. He said it would be good for me. When he gave it to me, he had this weird-sheepish-sort-of-embarrassed look. I bet this was his way of apologizing to me for the train scene. It was sweet of him though, but I wished Fujima did it for me. Speaking of Sexy Boy (Fujima), he handed me my bag and said, "I bet you've been looking for this, huh?" followed by a nervous laugh. I also forced a laugh so he wouldn't feel uncomfortable (because I'm such a sweet nice girl) and thanked him. Then I sat up to drink my tea. (It was really hot by the way.) I couldn't drink it up at once so I waited 'til it cooled and I kept blowing it. What was really weird was when Sendoh started speaking up.
"Hey…umm…Minamura…umm…" he started. And he kept stuttering for about 50 thousand years more, until he finally stopped beating around the bush. "Hey…umm… I'm really sorry for the scene in the train station, and also in the all-star games…I mean…I thought you were Aki-chan…so…umm…gomen." He had this really sheepish look on his face and he looked really sincere, but I wasn't satisfied. After the entire nuisance from the media people and the bad reputation I unintentionally earned? Huh! No way! No way I'm gonna forgive him just like this!
"Oh…is that so?" I mocked. "Well, you know what, I'm feeling a lot better now, I think I'll be on my way. Thanks for paying for the clinic…see ya!" I said, as I hurriedly grabbed my bag and hopped out of the bed, leaving that stupid smiley, broom-headed guy stunned.
I already had one foot out the door whenI remebered to say, "Oh, and by the way, you aren't forgiven...and thanks for the bubble tea!"
...To be continued. :)
A/N: So...what do you say? I'm sorry because I set the genre in Romance/General. Actually there won't be much romance in this fic (don't expect it to be so cheesy). The love begins in the sequel to this, and I haven't decided what its title would be yet. Any ideas? Please email me (check out my profile to get my address)! Thanks a lot :)