Chapter Three
Ame throws the ball in the air and jumps. In order to be useful to the team, she has to practice her jump serve. She started working on that with Oikawa during the holidays, but it still isn't on point, so she fails it most of the time. Also she still makes an awful lot of fouls. She knows the third year girl who holds the position she wants to play has a lot more experience than her, and she admires her for that. That's why Ame is so motivated. She wants to improve and prove herself to the team.
She started high school a few weeks ago and it is really different from what she thought it would be. It is rather calm, days pass by as she studies and trains in the afternoon.
She makes new friends, mostly girls from the volleyball club. She often hangs out with another girl, the only first year with her in the team. Misaki is very tall, and she plays as the setter. She's always speaking calmly while most girls of the team - Ame included - have a tendency to shout and get easily excited. Ame finds her presence soothing.
Ishihara is not situated in the same neighbourdhood as Seijo, so Ame doesn't meet Oikawa nor Iwaizumi. They chat sometimes and Iwaizumi likes to send her embarassing photos of Oikawa. He's kind of the narcissist type so his friend likes to make fun of him.
"Ame-chan!" Her captain calls out. "Do you want to work with me on your receives?" The older girl asks.
Ame nods vigorously.
Ishihara's team isn't weak, even though they are not the strongest. They have good elements and a real presence during games. Actually their players are known to be fierce.
Ame longs to play official games with the girls... which won't happen soon if she doesn't fix the way she plays. She rubs her head sheepishly as the ball hits the wall. Her hard work will eventually pay off in the end.
Ame closes her book as she's done with her homework. In the school's library, a few students around her are focused on their notes. Her phone buzzes. She puts everything in her bag and leaves quietly.
Once outside, she takes a look at the pink sky striped with orange strands. The air feels fresh and smells like grass. Ame takes her phone out of her pocket. It's a text.
"Hey, just finished classes. Wanna chill? ^^"
It's Oikawa. She doesn't have practice today because the first exams are coming soon so everyone is revising.
"Yeah, see you at the park we went to last time!"
She presses the send button. She wonders if anything has happened for him to want to see her. Well she'll find out once she meets him.
As always, Ame doesn't know how to walk peacefully. She runs. She sprints to her house to take her bike, that way she'll get to the park faster. For a second she thinks of going inside to leave her bag, but finally it's not a good idea. Her mom will ask her where she is going and who knows what she will think if Ame says she's going to see Oikawa and Iwaizumi, two boys. Settling her bag on her shoulder, she starts to pedal.
Twenty minutes later, she's walking beside her bike. She leaves it at the park's entrance and spots Oikawa on a bench. His head is held high, his eyes closed, a ball in his hands. He's alone. Well he never said he would be with his friend, but she's still surprised. She sits next to him.
"Are you using the concentrating tip I told you about?" She asks curiously.
She did it during a practice game, trying to visualize her ball's trajectory before serving. It did kind of work.
"I tried during training but I fail my jump serve half the time!" He finally whines in a childish voice, his eyes still closed.
She laughs.
"Well at least you're doing better than me. I fail eight times out of ten" she admits.
"What? That's a lot! Are you sure you know how to count Ame-chan?"
He opens his eyes and turns his head towards her. His gaze stops on the braids on each side of her head, that start from her temples and are tied in the back. He raises his long fingers to touch them slightly. She slaps his hand.
"Of course I know, don't get cocky just because you're progressing faster than me!"
She approaches her face from his.
"Don't worry, I'll catch up with you then my serve will be better than yours."
He chuckles then pinches her cheek.
"Ame-chan you're adorable when you're flustered."
She grits her teeth then gives him the cutest smile she can muster before she stabs him in the stomach with a finger. She grins cruelly. Oikawa learns not to treat her like a little puppy again, unless he's ready to endure violence.
"So, did you blend in with your teammates?" He tosses the ball at her. She receives it and sends it back to him.
"I guess you can say that. The girls were intimidating at first, but once I talked to them I found out they're pretty nice."
Her gaze is fixed on the volleyball. Oikawa thinks her school uniform fits her well. She looks more feminine in her black skirt and burgundy jacket than in her sports outfit. The ball falls on his head.
"Oikawa, what are you doing? Daydreaming?"
"Don't talk like that to the best setter of the country!"
"Yeah, you're so good you can toss with your head" she snickers.
"Well, I'd do anything for you, Ame-chan, if you asked me" he replies with a charming voice.
The way he answers to her teasing makes her confused.
They sit outside the park on top of a wall, drinking cold water.
"Was there a reason why you wanted to see me?" She asks.
"Do I need a reason to see your pretty face?" He says with a flirty voice.
"Of course you do" she shrugs. "You're a fox after all."
"What?"
She smirks.
"Have you ever seen your face when you're playing? You look like you're analyzing your opponent, looking for any weakness you can use. Just like a fox." She pauses. "That's quite disturbing actually. I'm sure you do that in real life as well."
Oikawa feels like a criminal who's been caught red handed. He always saw her staring at the ball during games, so how the hell did she look at his face? On the one hand he feels flattered that she would pay so much attention to him, on the other it makes him even more cautious. Ame isn't the brute he first thought she was, on the court and in general. She can be observant and use her head. That makes her an interesting girl. At least for now.
"I guess I have to plead guilty for that." He passes his hand through his soft hair. "In ten days Ishihara's boys volleyball club will come to Seijo for a practice match. I heard you girls will come to play with our girls too. Your coach should inform you soon."
He jumps and lands gracefully on the ground. She imitates him.
"Maybe we'll see each other play. Maybe I could even give you a tour to visit my school."
"I can't wait" she grins.
"I know. If I were you I would be impatient to see myself play as well."
She rolls her eyes.
"Anyways, couldn't you just send me a text for that?"
He stares at her. That's the first time a girl tells him something that closed to not wanting to see him. His eyes twitches.
"Did you not want to see me?" He whines.
She shrugs.
"Well, maybe" she pauses. "I was supposed to study some more. If I fail my exam it's your fault."
"Oh, so that's all. I don't have to worry about my grades, you know, after all I'm very smart" he shows off, shameless.
She mimics his haughty voice then climbs on her bike.
"Do you want me to ride you home?"
He chuckles.
"Isn't that normally the guy's role?"
"Oh, don't be shy" she teases him. "Come on."
Finally he sits behind her, his volleyball under one arm as the other hand hooks under his metal seat, and he wonders if late meetings at the park are going to become a recurrent thing between them from now on.