Disclaimer: Same as in every chapter. ;D
Author's Note: I'd just like to thank everyone who's reviewed the prologue and the first chapter. Those reviews meant a lot. ;D
Calliope: Thanks! It was something that I was expecting to happen sometime in the sequel of Slam Dunk (which I'm still desperately praying for ;D ) but since it hasn't come yet I decided to include it in the story. ;D
KoinoTenshi: Thanks for the review! ;D I'm glad you like what I wrote because I'm a big fan of your own fic. ;D In any case, I was pondering over what to do with Ella's currently nondescript status and I'm going to try to fix it in this chapter. Let me know if I go a tad bit overboard on the details, though. ;D
Without further delay, here's the update. ;D
Chapter 2
Ayako stood up just as almost everybody else did and the sound of scraping chairs echoed throughout the hall. Her eyes flitted about the crowd, searching for some lone figure looking down at his or her shoes, just longing to be spoken to. Unfortunately, all those people seemed to be taken or simply not present at this time, and so she soon felt like being the bashful one. Several minutes passed as she began to move around a bit, her eyes desperately seeking a partner. And just as shoe-shuffling seemed tempting—
Bingo.
Her eyes lit up as she spotted the only person in the room who wasn't being approached yet. Her feet carried her towards her target immediately, though as she approached it became clear as to why nobody had introduced themselves to the girl who was had remained seated in her chair.
She was obviously different from everyone else in the room. Not just in her appearance but the vibe that hit Ayako as she neared screamed "different" in each and every direction.
Her posture wasn't natural, but it wasn't tense per se. Her long legs were extended in front of her in a very relaxed position though her back was as stiff and straight as a poker. It wasn't obvious since she inclined herself against her backrest slightly, but the way her shoulders and chest were positioned gave it away. Her fingers weren't drumming on the table in a sign of impatience or restlessness. On the contrary, they rested serenely in front of her, propped comfortably on the smooth, polished wood of her table. The only clear sign of discomfort showed in how her eyes were focused coolly yet determinedly on her tabletop.
And what eyes they were!
Framed by long, thick lashes, the dark, stormy gray pools were something to look at. The textures and different planes of light hitting them made them appear intriguing, and matched against her serious, unwelcoming features the overall effect was beautiful—but intimidating. It didn't help that she wasn't smiling.
"Eyeing the foreigner, are you?"
Ayako turned to see Mari standing slightly behind her, looking very much like herself. Despite the mild pang of discomfort and dislike Ayako felt being in Mari's company, she nodded, smiling slightly.
"She seems very interesting," she admitted. Pausing, she gave the girl a good look and frowned slightly, trying to identify her features. "Where is she from?"
"The Philippines, according to Miss Kawazaki," Mari replied dismissively. "Small country to the south."
Ayako smiled inwardly. If she recalled correctly, the Philippines had 7,107 islands. "Small" wasn't exactly the word she'd use.
"Then she'll be a perfect partner," Ayako said brightly, anxious to get away before someone else approached the girl. "The Filipinos speak English very well. That's a very good thing for the club. She'll probably become a very important member."
Mari's eyes narrowed as she understood what Ayako meant. Taking the jab at her ego, she gave the foreigner a haughty, condescending look before she turned and walked away.
Glad to be rid of her, Ayako turned and let out a breath of relief when she saw that the girl was still sitting alone. Gathering her wits about her she took a deep breath and walked forward.
"Excuse me?" she asked tentatively, using her well-practiced and excellently delivered English. "Would you care to be my partner?"
Ella's eyes snapped up at the carefully intoned and recited questions, her surprise at actually being approached doubling as she stared blankly at the girl before her.
She was only slightly shorter than Ella, with long, curly dark hair and even prettier dark eyes. Her lips were full and a pale pink, their beauty enhancing and being enhanced by the sheer creaminess of her fair skin. She had a healthy, extremely well-proportioned figure, and an even healthier well-rounded vibe surrounding her.
"Huh?" she asked dumbly, regretting the question the second it popped into the air.
Beautiful, she thought grimly. I've destroyed my social life on my first day here. "Dear Erica"—she was already picturing herself writing in her mind—"the people here are so judgmental! Say one stupid thing and you're exiled from all social circles forever!"
"Would you care to be my partner?" the girl repeated, her eyes warming up instead of cooling the way Ella expected they would. Her smile deepened and she stepped closer.
Note to self: Say a lot of stupid things from now on.
The way the girl spoke in English was so beautifully drawn out that the easy manner in which she'd spoken for years seemed coarse and unrefined in comparison. The intonations were enchantingly Oriental and the lack of distortions like slang and the other made-up terms brought by popular culture made English look like a whole new language to be explored.
"Of course," Ella replied, biting back the, "Sure, why not, babe?" she was so used to blurting out comfortably in the Philippines. She stood up quickly, smiling slightly and extending her hand to shake. "My name's Ella."
"Pretty name," the girl replied, shaking her hand firmly, her smile widening and flashing very nice teeth. "My name's Ayako."
"Thank you," Ella answered, acknowledging the compliment. "Your name's far more interesting, though. It's very nice to meet you."
If Erica could see me now…
Erica's lovely, wide eyes would probably turn into saucers. As in, 00 –if she could hear what Ella was saying.
" 'Your name's far more interesting, though'!" she'd shriek before rolling on her back with laughter. "Whatever happened to, 'Yeah, I know. All the people back home dig it.' "
"It's nice to meet you too," Ayako responded. She paused and looked Ella up and down without malice. "I heard you were from the Philippines, but you don't look like a Filipina at all."
"So I've heard. I'm not pure Filipino. There are some other genes thrown in there that I don't really bother to remember."
"Ah." She was still smiling, but Ella saw that she was pondering what to say next. Seeing the problem with their conversation, she immediately switched gears and went on the approach.
"So," she said, this time in Japanese, "care to tell me more about yourself?"
Ayako's eyes widened in delight. "So you do speak Japanese!" She raised a brow and smacked Ella's arm lightly. "And here I was doing my best to make myself understood!"
"Trust me, you speak English very well. I was checking my own pronunciation when I was answering you. I felt that if I spoke the way I usually speak I'd be butchering the English language."
Ayako laughed at that. "You're not a very hard person to impress, in that case."
"Rarely. I'm very unimpressionable most of the time."
"Uh-huh. Then you must be thoroughly enamored by the Americans and people who speak English naturally."
She wrinkled her nose. "No—not really. I'm one of those people. When it's natural it isn't as carefully used—not often, in any case. It comes so easily that there's no art in saying what you have to say most of the time. When you're set on perfecting your sentences before they come out the delivery has much more…impact. It's like what you're saying is very much thought-out and the person hearing what you're saying will feel that slight difference."
Ayako smiled. "You're a very interesting person to talk to, Ella," she commented, but inside she acceded. Now that Ella was speaking Japanese, Ayako did understand what she meant. There was much more care in pronunciation and intonations and the indicative way she delivered what she said with excellent diction was refreshing to see.
Moments later she burst out laughing.
"What?" Ella asked, staring at her strangely.
"I can't believe we're having a discussion about how we talk to each other," Ayako said, shaking her head. "Can't we talk about anything else? It's like we're down to talking about how we say things and we're analyzing why they come out that way."
Ella tilted her head to the side, seeing her point.
"You're right," she agreed, grinning. "So why don't we go back to my question? Would you care to tell me more about yourself?"
"I don't get it," Ryota said, checking his watch again. "It isn't like Ayako to be an hour late."
"Maybe she got bombarded with stuff to do," Yasuda suggested, shifting his bag slightly. "I heard that Mari is the president of the English Club. She's probably hounding Ayako as we speak."
"I doubt it," Ryota dismissed worriedly. "If it were Mari, Ayako would've told her to buzz off by now."
"Good point."
Silence fell between them for several minutes as both minds drifted in different directions. And then—like a puppy sensing its master—Ryota's head flew up and his eyes widened adoringly.
"Ayako-chan!" he almost screeched.
But Ayako wasn't looking at him. She was deeply immersed in a conversation with a girl none of them had ever seen before.
"Ayako!" Ryota said, waving at her and raising the volume of his voice. "Ayako!"
When she finally looked up she was distracted and almost impatient. But her eyes focused on him and in a moment they warmed, her bright smile flashing stars into Ryota's eyes.
"Is he your boyfriend, Ayako?" the girl beside her asked bluntly, breaking the intimate moment.
Ryota felt a stab of annoyance as he focused his eyes on the rude girl, but that melted away as he got a good look at her.
And saw the approval in her eyes.
"He doesn't seem like much, does he?" Ayako said fondly, her eyes warming even more as she tilted her head to the side.
"On the contrary," the girl said as a big smile flashed out and enlivened her serious, grim features, "he seems to be quite a lot." She extended her hand. "Ella."
"Ryota," he returned, smiling widely at her and shaking her hand firmly. "And this is my friend, Yasuda."
She shook hands with Yasuda and let them both know that she was pleased to meet them. The thing was: her eyes showed she meant it.
"Ayako's told me a lot about the basketball team," she said, peering at the gym wistfully. "I can imagine what you're all going through what with the season starting and all."
"We've got a lot of problems, yes," Ryota agreed, "but we manage very well. There are many things we've got to do before the start of the Inter High. We've got to work on the new team and break it in. Some key members have already graduated and we're at a deep loss."
"So I've heard. Ayako was telling me about them and I understand the feeling. More so the manager work she does."
Ryota grinned. "I didn't know you minded the work we gave you," he shot at his girlfriend.
Ayako blushed, folding her arms and looking away. "I never said I did," she snipped shortly.
"In any case, you've got an assistant now." Ryota turned back to Ella. "She's the younger sister of our former captain. She's very committed to the team."
"For more than one reason," Ayako said with an amused smile. She paused and spotted someone behind Ryota. "Here comes one of them."