Disclaimer: The absolute undeniable fact that cannot be doubted is this: I do not own Slam Dunk. Pero pwede pa rin akong tumingin diba?
Kalyope Medina Burato: hehehe… exactly… well it is sad, but that's life, they didn't really have any money, so her aunt did what had to be done… anyways, hmm… it's still going to spiral down..
Simmic: hehehehe… thank you… I'm glad you can find warmth in their relationship… hehehe… and sorry about that, I had been struggling in choosing aiwa or another school, but then again I thought to myself, I didn't want her to be a girl who goes to school to the best team in Kanagawa, (I think) since they beat shohoku, so I transferred her to Miuradai, and well I did place it on Kamakura, which I thought was in Kanagawa prefecture, though I have this feeling it's not, argh… anyways, I'll look up another place… hehehe…
The Writing On The Wall
I sat on my bed, combing out my wet hair. I could see the side of my face being reflected on the mirror that rested on the table, and could feel the sadness being reflected along with my face. Beside me, my new uniform had been laid out, ironed and pressed straight, and as I was brought to reality by the ticking of the clock, I slowly lifted it above my head.
The uniform did not suit me, I guess because it was the first time that I wore it. And here I was, staring at myself in front of the full-length mirror, gazing into the glass as if I could suddenly make it change, distort it's image, reform myself, that somehow, I wouldn't see this uniform and instead see myself wearing what I was accustomed to, and remind me that I was still going to Shohoku. But all that's changed now.
I could hear the clock ticking again, and one glance at it made me rush to pick up my backpack, run to the kitchen, the usual stairs already gone, and on the table I picked up a pre-made sandwich for lunch. I stuffed it inside my bag, and another fleeting look at the watch reminded me that I had dozed off again, and quickly grabbing the keys, I stepped out of this dwelling.
The familiar houses did not greet me; instead they were filled with strangers. They weren't friendly or unfriendly, though they had one thing in common: I didn't know them, nor did they know me.
I walked to the new bus stop, much farther away from the apartment, than the one that stood near our house, and waited amongst the other students as the sun rose differently that what I had grown accustomed to see.
The bus arrived almost right on time, and as we took it's steps, and tried to catch a seat, it moved along with ease, and once again, I couldn't identify any of my neighbours, not that I knew a single one. There was not one who looked vaguely familiar, not one who recognized me with a smile.
The school loomed right before me, all its students walking, running, jogging past. The trees were tall, and its leaves swaying were inviting, as if ushering me to walk inside. My steps soon followed the rest, and I found myself crossing the school gates, reaching the building, entering a world I had not yet seen.
It was instant. I didn't know anybody, and nobody knew me. They weren't aware that there was a new student that there was a new piece added to the puzzle that didn't seem to have a corner to fit in.
In my search of the principal's office, I passed by the gym, seeing for the first time what I would soon be calling, my team. I overheard them conversing amongst themselves, and as I passed by, I could not help but recognize the name Shohoku uttered from their lips, and the match that followed with it, all to take place in three weeks.
"Shohoku will win for sure." I mumbled to myself, which was meant to be only for my own hearing, though it seems as if they too possessed sharp ears. "You better watch your mouth." Here I am, on the first day of school, already gaining some potential enemies, how welcomed and secured do I feel. I quickened my steps, my heartbeat pounding itself against the walls of my chest.
I entered the classroom, re-setting my schedule to meet the principal after school. I had been lucky as the teacher followed behind me. I found myself a seat, which didn't seem to be taken, right on the front of the row, beside the door. The teacher entered right after me, and as the class stood up the greet him, I stood up with them, bowed, and took my seat.
The first few minutes right after that were spent in taking the attendance, though it seems he missed my name. I quickly raised my hand. "Sir, you forgot to call me." He asked for my name, and I replied, "Takahashi sir." He scanned his list, going up and down, though I was sure it was arranged in alphabetical order until he looked up from his sheet to inform me that my name was missing.
I stood once again, took my bag, and approached him. "Who's supposed to be your teacher?" I looked at the schedule that was given to me, and uttered my teacher's name. "Mr. Minami." I could hear a chuckle from behind. I would've looked, if for not the teacher's smile. "I'm Mr. Senada. Your class is the class next to this one." I could feel my face heat up, up to my forehead, and as I bowed my head low, apologized and excused myself, I only felt the heat grow stronger as my classmates turned their heads and watch me walk away.
I now stood in front of my real classroom, the teacher apparently notifying the class of an important announcement, though I could not bring myself to concentrate on what he was saying due to the previous incident. I knocked twice after I was sure he was done, and when he motioned for me to come inside, I apologized for being late. He waved it away, and turned to the class, introducing me, though I wish he had not said where I came from.
Basketball fanatics would not like the fact that last year, Shohoku had defeated them. Some people bear grudges, and some grudges run deep. My seat had been on the second row, beside the window, and I was glad that nobody had taken out their anger on me, as of yet. Though what followed next I found both interesting and annoying.
"I heard that our team is going to face Shohoku in three weeks, are you coming, Kana?" My ears perked up, and though I did not turn to face them, my ears strained for a better resonance. "I heard that the new girl came from Shohoku." Their tone changed to whispers I could barely hear their voices I thought I heard the wind rushing past my ears.
A figure appeared before me. "Excuse me, you're from Shohoku right?" That was already determined. "Do you by any chance, know of Mitsui Hisashi?" That came unexpected and uninvited. "Why?" I answered. The girl standing beside her pushed her out of focus. "I'm Yoyogi Kana. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Yoyogi Kana. I was holding him as his tears flowed freely, and as mine had no strength to show it, I could only keep him close, I could only be beside him though I could relieve him of his pain. 'I liked her Karin, very much.' And at that time it tore my heart. Yoyogi Kana had been her name. And right now, Yoyogi Kana stood right before me, trying to be friendly.
"Yoyogi-san, I'm going to ask you to leave Mitsui-san alone." I stood up, my height levelled with hers, while she firmly pressed her feet to the ground. "And who are you to tell me that? Are you his girlfriend?" I was getting an impression of whom Yoyogi Kana truly was. "No." I replied flatly. "Then don't tell me to stay away from him, you're not a relative, nor a special someone, so who are you to tell me off?"
Our voices were still kept down. The class talked and walked about as if they could not hear the problem boiling inside the pot. "He already has a girlfriend, and their happy with each other, so don't try to force yourself into their relationship." I did not take any second roads to reach my goal, though instead I took the shortcut and wasted no time in informing her that it was her who was wasting her time.
"I wasn't off to see Mitsui." She said with a matching laugh. "My friend here's the one who wants to meet him." Indeed, her friend whose cheeks were on fire, tried to restrain the flames with her palms pressed against the burning skin. "I was thinking more on the lines of Rukawa." Well, it seems her luck has run out.
"Fortunately, I'm not a friend of his." Not that I did not want to be friends with Rukawa-kun in the first place, but that at least she could stop pretending to even remotely be good to me. Nor would Rukawa fall for her when he finds a girl's presence annoying. The lines started to form across her forehead, and I could feel her hand struggling from its grasp, and she walked away without another word and settled back to her seat, all in time for our next class.
The rest of the day passed by peacefully. It was filled with the teacher's voices, with hands hastening to scribble down notes, the examining of books unveiling more information to be inputted into our brains.
The next day and the day that followed after that passed in an ordinary fashion, I woke up at six in the morning, rode the bus at fifteen minutes to seven and arrived just in time for the morning bell to ring. There was nothing new to do except to provide answers to homework question, ace more quizzes, complete more projects, all that school was composed of.
The week past by, and I found myself settling into the normal surroundings of the community. I passed by Miuradai's basketball team after school on the afternoon of that Friday and briefly stood outside the door and watched as they practiced with purpose. Before going home, I even wished them good luck.
Here, at three weeks, here I was, sitting on a chair in front of my table, a pen in one hand, the other lying on top of a book trying to hold it's page down, my fingers poised just above the paper, and my eyes focusing on the letters that would soon form words, sentences, interpreted by my mind as useful information.
At the time, I was probably deep, lost in my thoughts that I did not hear the first ring of the phone that occupied the table my elbows were leaning on. As it rang once more, I only stared at it. It disappeared for a moment, and reappeared in the voice of my aunt, calling me. "It's for you," She said.
I placed the pen I had been holding on top of the page, and turned my attention to the phone. "Hello?" There were shouts coming from everywhere, from voices I had never heard before. "Karin? Where are you?" Ayako yelled to my ears. "At home," I replied casually. My thoughts kept drifting back to the question on the book. I knew it had to be done. My teacher recently called for me and informed me that my grades had been steadily improving, climbing to its previous glory. He knew it was still within my reach. I still had the time to undo whatever I undid during my time at Shohoku.
"Karin? Are you still there?" Ayako's voice interrupted me. "The game's about to start, what are you doing at home?" I sat back down the chair I had sat in for the last few hours before night dawned in. "Studying. I'll be taking an important exam this Monday to see if I could qualify for the scholarships." The cheers for both teams only seemed to get louder. "Is that so? Well, it's okay. It's just the preliminaries. You'll go to the major ones won't you?"
"I'll try." I didn't say I would go, and when that word expects of to try, though not really expected to go through. "Well, you're greatly missed. Ah! The game's starting now, I have to go, talk to you later Karin!" As the shouts enveloped the last few seconds of our conversations, I muttered a "sure", trailed after by a "goodbye".
I rested my head on the page I had specifically book-marked with my pen. Recently, my life's been consumed by studying. It's not like I enjoy it so much it's become my hobby, but it somehow became my way of life. Is it the school? Is it the people? Is it me? Or is it necessity? I'll be graduating in a few months, and my aim to get a scholarship is somewhat ambitious, but I will never find out until I actually go for it. My teacher told me that getting good grades did not entirely depend on whether you were just smart, but if you coupled it with hard work. And here I am, running, trying to chase this dream, yet in the process of achieving it, am I also running away from others in exchange?
What's happening to me? "I don't know… I don't know…"
There's nothing much… just that Karin's well undergoing some changes, just trying to show that here… more to come… hmm… sore dake desu… hehehe… ja, mata ne!