Bad Things Happen Bingo #6 - prompt: Undeserved Reputation for UshiTen

Tendou hoped high school would be a breath of fresh air. Fresh starts. New challenges. New, powerful teammates. Enticed by Coach Washijou's assurances that his gift to predict his opponent's moves would be cherished here, he joined the volleyball club, and everything appeared to be sublime.

Unfortunately, not everyone cherished the Guess Monster's ruthless talents.

"He was a total jerk. He'd make fun of us."

"I hope his teammates don't cry."

"Yeah, when he was in elementary school, he was a total weirdo."

It was the end of PE class. The students had filed into the adjoining changing room to don their school uniforms again before lunch period. Still in his gym clothes, Tendou was going to take a swig of his unopened water bottle when he noticed the chatter among three boys on a nearby bench.

Yeah, that was the reputation he carried from past volleyball clubs, but he didn't expect any of these uncouth kids from before to reappear here.

Rather than let it go, Tendou thought he'd tease the trio who thought their conversation was oh so discreet.

"Ooh? Whatcha talkin' about?" he chimed, intruding into their bubble.

Satori expected them to clam up, stammer a fib, and skulk away with tails between their legs.

But this time, his guess powers failed him. He'd forgotten who this one kid was in his past.

"How you hit the ground so hard once you peed your shorts," the leader of the group sneered.

Tendou remembered his former association to this kid, in elementary school, too late.

A few kids who overheard hooted.

Tendou blushed.

That embarrassing incident from way, way back had just now been aired for everyone. Satori was so shocked that this kid was classless enough to disclose that event that he didn't even try to deny it.

Not that denial would have done anything. The whole room of boys was aflutter. Whispers abounded as those who heard shared the rumor with their neighbors who didn't hear so well. Tendou's silence merely confirmed the accusation. Only Satori's volleyball teammate, Wakatoshi Ushijima, continued stuffing his gym clothes into his kit bag as if nothing of interest were happening.

Satori's rage soared, and he squeezed the water bottle in his hand tightly.

And then, as if his pride needed any more wounding, the pressure applied to the bottle became so strong that the lid shot off, spitting its transparent contents all over Tendou.

Amidst immature cackling, the drenched Satori's high school dream fell asunder. Tendou ran into the shower to get out of his soaked clothes in privacy. Having received their fill of entertainment, one-by-one the students finished getting dressed and departed the locker room to get lunch.

When Satori crept back into the changing area, he thought he was alone, until being startled by the stoic figure of Ushijima, all alone in the space.

Satori clicked his tongue. "So, yeah. If you're wondering, it's true," he grumpily confessed to the accusation.

"May I state that such past events are not important to me," answered Wakatoshi. He put his kit bag over his shoulders and left the gym without further comment.

Tendou exhaled and finally decided he should get changed before lunch break ended.

Once he was dressed, he put on his bag and pushed on the exit door to the playground. However, the door snapped shut on him like a reflex. Petty giggling circulated outside.

"You're locked in!"

"You can't get out!"

It was the mocking of the scummies from earlier. Tendou frowned. There was other giggling too, not just the three boys. They had supporters.

This was familiar. It was like the petty pranks he used to suffer in the past.

Now was he to deal with this for another three years?

Why did this always happen to him?

But it didn't matter what the other boys said. All that mattered was Satori's opinion of himself. As long as he thought he was better than them, the rest was immaterial.

And Tendou was better than them, he told himself with a large dose of narcissism. He had more pride than to stoop to giving these bullies a rise by attempting to push on the locked door.

Instead of panicking, he'd stay inside silently until the boys left. He waddled back into the center of the locker room, sat on the bench, and mindlessly studied the empty coat hangers to pass the time.

There was soon no more noise coming from the door. He even doubted that they had the balls to actually lock the door. But lest the prank be more elaborate than it appeared, Tendou stayed put. He'd wait it out as long as possible, even if he missed lunch period.

He sat for ten minutes, then fifteen. All the while he began to doubt his own paranoia, but every second felt good enough to tell himself he'd wait ten seconds more.

Then, the creaking of the door leading from the attached gym into the changing room made Satori shriek like a girl. His heart pounded, staring at the interior door opening on its own, in the breach of which stood Wakatoshi Ushijima—who had somehow gotten back inside the gym?!

"The boys are gone," Wakatoshi blandly announced. "You didn't exit, so I snuck through the teachers' office when he opened the door."

Tendou breathed a grateful sigh of relief that it wasn't a faculty member who would grill him for still being inside.

"Great. Let's go out that way," Tendou said. He assumed they'd have as much luck sneaking through the gym and out the teachers' room on the other side as Ushijima did coming thence.

But Wakatoshi summarily torpedoed that plan with his next statement. "We can't. He already left and locked the door again."

Did Tendou hear the destined ace right? The two of them were now locked inside from all possible exits?

The inanity of the situation caused Tendou to cackle.

Well, there was nothing to be done. They would have to wait until after lunch period when the next gym class invariably opened up. They'd sneak out somehow then.

At least Satori had his young and not untalented teammate for company.

"Why'd you come here after those boys said all that stuff?" Tendou asked after resigning himself to the long haul.

"It's no matter to me. You are skilled at volleyball. That's the only thing of concern," said his teammate with a vaguely mature wisdom. Satori stared wide-eyed at his teammate.

He smiled. Like Coach Washijou, his teammates were very much his supporters, no matter how the rest of the school might ever treat him.

"At least, if I had to get locked in here with anyone, it's you," Tendou said thoughtfully.

Ushijima looked up as if having an idea. He wandered over to the exterior door, the one the boys had bragged was locked. He stood in front of the solid metal and gave it a light push.

The door opened lazily, no hindrance at all.

"They lied. It wasn't locked," Wakatoshi concluded matter-of-factly.

Tendou guffawed at himself for not testing the very door for risk of entertaining his tormenters.

Stupid pride.

"I have missed the humor," said Wakatoshi in response to Satori's laughter.

"Yes, yes, you have," replied Tendou, trailing into a giggle. He donned his kit bag, and then he and Wakatoshi made their way to the lunchroom to grab a bite while they still had the chance.

Thank you for reading!

As usual, if you want to request me to fill a prompt on my Bad Things Happen Bingo card, check out my profile page, or visit my tumblr stylinbreeze60 for full details.

~Breeze