Chapter Seven
Raye walked down the street, the light poles were the only thing that shed light on the dark street, leading her to the community's tennis courts. Her head was hung low, hair covering her forehead and eyes, casting a dark shadow over her cheek bones. She has no right to criticize what I'm doing…why can't she be happy for me? She's changed… Raye lurched forward, a result of a crack in the cement sidewalk. Her tennis bag fell from her shoulder and hit the ground, she herself landed on her hands and knees. She stood up and looked at her palms with an empty look, they had small pebbles pressed into them, ones that when brushed away left small indents. No damage here… She thought before pushing herself up off the ground. Next she examined her knees which were in worse shape. The left one only had a scrape on it, but the right had a decent size cut and was trickling blood. Raye brushed her hand over them in an attempt to clean them off a bit, but really only succeeded in smearing to blood on her knee. She shook her head, hair falling around her face in a messy fashion. Fantastic. In the silence and absence of her own pounding thoughts, the young girl could hear the sound of a tennis ball hitting the court and hitting a racket. From the ball bouncing off of a racket and the noise it made, she decided that there was only one person there…unless the two had matching footsteps and racket tension. She rolled her eyes at this thought. As she came closer to the courts, the familiar sight of the illuminated courts filled her eyes; beacon in the darkness around it, calling all who are brave enough.
She pushed open the gate and began to walk to the court farthest away from the other player. Then she saw his face; her body froze. No…no no no…Not here…he can't be here…Not now! It was Kikumaru Eiji. What would he think if her saw me here! Would he tell the team! Oh my god…I'm so busted… Raye turned to leave, but Kikumaru was waving, "Raye! Is that you?" He jogged over to her, studying what she was wearing and then her face. "Eh…heh…!" She could hear him chuckling to himself.
Raye was frantic. "I do not know this Raye of which you speak!" She knew it was useless, though. She could see the signs of recognition in his face, which was screwed up in confusion. Of course…why wouldn't it be? She was wearing a pleated navy tennis skirt and a snug-fitting white polo.
"I knew you were a girl," He said chuckling out loud. "I heard you and your friends talking, you know, back by the bathrooms?" He shifted his weight before continuing. "How come you lied to us?" He had his suspicions; girls were always trying to find ways to get closer to the tennis players.
Raye crossed her arms over her chest. "How else am I supposed to get on a team that actually challenges me?" Eiji's mouth dropped at this statement, but the girl continued on. "I really did just transfer and everything…I used to just go to one of those Average Joe schools, but my dad got me transferred here so I could get on the team. Of course…he had no idea that I'd be joining the boy's team…" She smirked at this thought, but the smile was dashed from her face when predicament she was in was brought back to her attention. "But so much for that…" She let her head hang in defeat, hoping at the very least to tug on his heart strings.
"I'll make a deal with you!" His voice was cheerful as he said this, causing Raye to lift her head. "If you can get at least one set on me, then I won't tell anyone. Plus, I'll try and keep people from suspecting you." He held his racket up with one finger, balancing it well. She raised an eyebrow.
"Only one set?" She raised an eyebrow. "You've seriously underestimated me, Acrobat." She felt stung by the proposition's low requirements, but readily accepted. Besides…this is what she was here for, a serious challenge.
He grinned cheekily. "I hope so!" It seemed like he was up for a good match, too. But she'd make sure he knew how wrong he was about her. This was not about being near boys. It never had been, and it never would be. She was so not Kei.