"In Which Jo Makes a List."
From Jo's Playlist: Voice of Truth by Edgar Sandolva Jr
"Why are you all the way up here?" Summer asked Jo, who was watching from above the busy court on the walking track.
Jo gave Summer a polite smile before turning back to the scrimmage going on below, brow furrowing. A clipboard was clutched in her fingers and a pencil knotted in her hair. "It's easier to see them play up here," she explained, nodding. That, and she was tired of the boys ogling her all day. She knew that Kuroo would probably let them know about their official relationship status at some point, but she didn't think it would be all of them two days later.
However, Kuroo acted as though nothing had changed. In fact, he seemed to behave more distant than before. Spending most of his time at Kenma's or with the other seniors.
Jo didn't know how she felt about that. Part of her was grateful knowing he had such a close knit of friends. The other felt a twinge of hurt.
"What are you doing here?" Jo asked. Summer gripped the railing, leaning over the edge to get a better view.
"I came to see what all the fuss was about," she said.
Jo furrowed her brows, tracking the ball's movement across the court. Kenma barely followed it, she noted. He allowed his teammates to guide it towards him. That was a dangerous game to play. "What fuss?"
Summer played with the tips of her gold hair. "Kuroo isn't exactly super popular at school, but I know a few upperclassmen girls who have had their eyes on him. He's very intelligent and kind. They're surprised he decided to date out of the blue,"
Ah. That was it. She knew word would travel quickly in the classroom. But all the way to Summer in a grade below? That was impressive.
"Is it that weird?" Jo asked.
"He's never exactly expressed interest in anyone. Not really the type to spend time away from volleyball or school, from what I hear," Summer said. "Doesn't go out with the other third years on Sundays to the karaoke bars."
That came as a surprise to Jo. She rolled the new information around her head. Besides his looks, he was extremely smart and friendly to everyone. The fact that he even reciprocated her feelings was a shock. Guys like that were typically taken by the equally pretty, smart, athletic girl of the class.
He was a mystery indeed. And only more so now that they were a couple.
She watched the team bump, set, and spike several times before the ball fell due to a mistake by Lev. Again, Kenma allowed his team to form a safetynet around him. Sweat dripped down his temple and his chest rose and fell quickly.
He needed to increase his stamina before they compete in the next few months.
"He acts as though nothing has changed," Jo said, writing a note for Nekomata. "Since we've started dating. It's as it has been. He comes over to do homework, we eat dinner, and then part ways. He hangs out with his friends a bit more than he had." She found Kuroo on the sidelines talking to Titus. The two were bent over the notebook in Titus's hands. Both had pinched foreheads and furrowed brows.
Summer hummed. "Jocks are the worst to date I'm afraid." She folded her arms on the railing, propping her chin on her forearms. Her rings glinted under the fluorescent light as she wiggled her fingers. "It took a while for Oikawa and I to adjust. More for me to adjust, really,"
"Is he serious about the sport?"
Summer blew a breath through her teeth. "He lives for it. Sometimes too much so. I personally don't really get it, but that's okay. He loves it and I want to see him succeed."
Jo hummed. "I understand." Though she had played sports before, it wasn't exactly her passion.
Summer was wise beyond her years. Jo knew it came from being uprooted time and time again with a moments' notice but it was still startling. When one moves constantly with no place to call home, you grow up quickly in order to maintain some form of sanity under the stress.
Time. It would take time. She couldn't assume or put anything on Kuroo's shoulders. It wasn't fair for either of them.
But that didn't stop an uneasy feeling from settling in her gut.
The whistle blew, signaling the winning side. Conditioning was next. They conditioned three times a week now, much to the boys' gratitude. It had been nearly every day but Titus and Jo put up a fight. Both of them knew the dangers of overtraining. It took a bit of convincing and some research on Jo's part, but the coaches eventually relented.
Jo pulled the clipboard to her chest, watching the team drift to the weight room. "Are you going with us to visit Oikawa?"
Summer's bright eyes widened in surprise. "How did you guess?" she tilted her head and flashed a pretty smile.
Jo carefully tucked the pencil in her jacket pocket. "I just assumed. I read what I could about the schools and saw they're in the same area."
Summer followed Jo to the stairs. "Smart idea. Yeah, it's been a few weeks and he has some time over the weekend. Hey, are you good at science?"
Jo shot her a look over her shoulder as they exited the stairwell. "I'm decent at it. Why?" She was rather blunt.
Summer skipped ahead, clasping her hands behind her. "I'm struggling in biology and Titus literally sucks at tutoring. Could you help?"
"Sure, I don't see why not," Jo pulled out a fresh sheet of paper to write down a note her herself. "We can talk about it on the trip,"
Summer beamed, as bright as her namesake. "You're a star, Jo,"
Jo couldn't help the smile from forming on her own face.
Kuroo was supposed to be at her door thirty-five minutes ago. He had promised to help her with literature before their week of exams after they returned from Miaygi. She turned her phone over in her hand, worry knotting behind her sternum.
Footsteps paused at her door. "Was Testuro coming over tonight?" Jo's mother asked. She poked her head around the doorframe. She still wore her black scrubs from her clinic day.
Jo shrugged, putting her phone face down on her desk. "I think he was over at Kenma's. He probably got distracted,"
Her mom pursed her lips. She studied Jo's curled up form in her desk chair. Jo felt her mom's intelligent, deep brown eyes and resisted flinching. "Everything okay?" her mom finally asked. Her voice was soft and gentle, a tone she rarely used.
Jo picked up her pencil, twirling it across her knuckles. She refused to meet her mom's eyes. The moment her mom lay sight on Jo's tight cheeks and glassy eyes she would see the hurt blossoming inside her body. "Everything is fine,"
There was silence, save for the constantly playing music from downstairs and floating from Jo's own speaker. Her mother let out a long, low breath. "Okay," she said, clearly not believing her.
Jo shook her head. Her mind couldn't focus on the economics problem in front of her. All she saw was a forgien language she struggled to read and a graph she didn't care to understand. After a few moments of the words swimming in front of her eyes, she gave up. She sighed in defeat, her pencil dropping on her desk with a soft clink and leaned back in her chair. She rubbed at her aching eyes with her palms.
They had been an established couple for less than a week and it felt as though he had been avoiding her. Had they moved too fast? Their attraction had been quick that there had hardly been a talking stage. It just all felt so natural to her that she didn't question their choice.
She was overthinking this. Matteo always did tell her to stop letting her thoughts run wild when they had been together.
Maybe she should talk to April and Maria about this. Their communication had sparked ever so slightly in the past week. It had been out of the blue, but it was typical fashion for them. Last Sunday afternoon she realized she got a text notification from their old groupchat of just the three of them.
It had made her happy for them to be somewhat reunited once again.
Jo's phone buzzed with a text notification.
Without hesitation, Jo lurched forward and opened it.
I completely lost track of time. Kuroo's text read. Do you still want me to come over and help?
A tightness in Jo's test lessened its hold. She curled her toes on the wood floor as she replied. You can if you want to!
I'll be there in fifteen. I have something to tell you.
The tightness returned. Her leg bounced as she typed her response. Yes?
You must be my conjugate base because we have a lot in common.
Jo stared at the words for a moment before the joke hit her. She bowed her head, a smile erasing the cloud that had been weighing on her.
You dork.
Be there soon. :)
She sighed, letting her head fall back. With a heavy chest, she truly felt how lonely she was. And it was wearing on her.
An idea struck her. Leaning forward she jotted down in small, scratchy letters a game plan to feel better. It was a trick her brother taught her when she moved to Italy and the loneliness dug at her heart. She needed to romanticize life for a bit. Look at it through rose colored glasses for a time, she gray have covered her eyes for far too long.
Find a mountain top to hike. Walk in the woods. Find a small coffee shop to walk to. Find a plant nursery and fill my room with plants.
The list went on until her tendons cramped and her heartbeat without a tightness to it. She could do this.