November 9, 2009

AN: Teehee. I forgot about this story again. Apologies, my faithful five or six readers. But I'm sure you will understand the situation. The day after I posted chapter 2, I flew 3,000 miles across America to attend a wedding, got sick on the plane ride home, and spent my last week at home before departing for my freshman year of college with a fever, sore throat, and a cough. Luckily, I got better the morning of my departure. And then, of course, I was in college with a lot to do that took away from any writing time whatsoever. I have now been in college for over two months and am adjusted fairly well. And one Saturday morning, nursing a hangover, I remembered that I was a writer on a website called fanficion. And here I am.

I still haven't written much of this story since, oh, Julyish (I have six chapters written – I can't remember if I mentioned that before). But I'm sure I'll get some inspiration and start writing it again. Besides, I'm on the inspiration train right now – in addition to updating this story, I'm posting the prologue of another. So scurry on over to my profile and go read The Ultimate Sacrifice. It's short and, I think, good! But if not, enjoy all twelve pages of this beauty and leave a kind or constructive or mean or whatever review if you like.

Odaiba High

Chapter 3

-T.K.-

The day of the soccer game dawned warm and sunny, which didn't match my mood at all.

I didn't want to get out of bed, I didn't want to go to the game, I didn't want to go with Kari, and I didn't want to live in this stupid town.

Kari's nice and everything, and she could probably be a good friend, but I just want to go home – to my real home. At my old home, no one used their seniority to bully a freshman into flirting with his younger sister. At my old home, I wasn't forced to bond with a brother I had nothing in common with. At my old home, I was happy.

I didn't want to stand Kari up, though. I hadn't exactly asked her to go to the game with me, per se, but I had promised her I would go and that we would sit together.

Mustering up a large amount of will power, I finally crawled out of bed, showered to wake myself up, and got dressed. Mom chastised me for my disheveled appearance, as usual.

"Your hair is sticking straight up in the back! No girl will be impressed with that. And what are you wearing? Jeans? And a WHITE sweatshirt? You're going to get grass stains all over that."

I waited patiently for her to finish, pouring myself a bowl of cereal and skimming over the comics as she went on and on. Once I was done, I set my bowl in the sink and said, "Can you drive me?"

She stopped mid-sentence, something about how I would end up all alone (all because of my white sweatshirt), regained her breath, and said, "Sure."

Once we had loaded ourselves into the car and started the drive, Mom asked me, "So… why isn't Matt taking you?" She tried to make her tone sound casual but I could see right through it. She and Matt haven't spoken since we moved here and I knew that she was bringing him up for a reason.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think he's going. I don't think school pride type of events are really his 'scene.'"

Mom nodded. "That makes sense." She cleared her throat. "So, um, you should invite Matt over for dinner sometime."

I stared out the window and didn't say anything for a moment. I'd purposely neglected to tell my mom that I already had, and that Matt had blatantly refused. Okay, he didn't really, but I'm about ninety-four percent sure that he didn't have a gig last night. Sure, I may be ticked off at Mom for making me move here, but I wasn't going to tell her something that would hurt her just for the sake of it. "Sure," I said finally. "But Matt's really busy with his band and stuff… most nights he isn't home." I said this for a couple of reasons: to not get my mom's hopes up and to make it sound like Matt and I had bonded, and thus this is a fact that I knew about him.

"Oh… well, okay," Mom said. I took a side-glance at her and felt a twinge of pity. Our parents' divorce wasn't any more her fault than it was our dad's, and all Mom wanted was for Matt to love her like a son should love his mother. Even moving me here, while I'm not happy about it, was something Mom did for me. She left her friends and transferred jobs because she wanted her sons to have a good relationship. I frowned and leaned my head against the window, feeling very tired all of a sudden.

A few moments later we pulled up to the school, and I was shocked to see how crowded the place was. The student parking lot, which was the parking lot near the soccer field, was completely filled – it wasn't even that full on school days. The line to get in to the stadium stretched across fifty feet and the bleachers were already three-quarters of the way filled.

"Wow," Mom said, gaping, as I started to open the door. "I've never seen a sports event so lively on a Saturday morning before… except a professional one."

"Soccer's big here, I'm told," I said in answer, sliding out of the car. "Thanks Mom. I think I can get a ride home."

"Are you sure?" she asked. After I nodded, she said, "Okay. Well, call me if you need me. Have fun!"

I half-smiled. "Thanks." I shut the door and walked toward the end of the line, which kept getting longer – for every person that was let in to the stadium, another three hopped in line. I took out my phone and found Kari's number, which I was lucky enough to acquire the day before. I didn't expect in my wildest dreams for the game to be this crowded.

Kari answered on the second ring: "Hello?" she said loudly, clearly in the middle of a raucous group of people.

"Hey! I just got here and I'm in line – where are you?" I nearly yelled back, covering up my other ear so as to hear her better.

"I'm in line too, almost at the front. Come up here!"

I glanced wearily at the long stretch of people between me and the ticket booth. "I don't want to cut in front of all the people –" I started.

She laughed. "Don't worry about it, T.K. – no one will care. Come on, I'm almost to the front!"

I flipped my phone shut and stepped out of line, creeping up to the front. I was worried that at any moment, a burly man would stick out his arm and ask me angrily why I was going right up to the front, but no one seemed to care or even notice. I spied Kari at the ticket booth with two adults that shared her brown hair and sidled over to them. "Hi," I said.

She spun around and beamed. "Just in time! How are you?"

"I'm good. A little overwhelmed, though," I said truthfully.

"Didn't you say that a ton of people watched the football games at your old home?" Kari questioned.

I nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know anybody here."

"Kari, who's your friend?" the woman behind her asked.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry!" Kari turned. "Mom, Dad, this is T.K. He's new this year. T.K., these are my parents."

"Nice to meet you," Kari's father said, shaking my hand.

"How do you like Odaiba so far?" asked her mother politely.

I shrugged. "It's nice. I haven't seen much of the city yet. The only places I've really been are the school and some restaurants scattered around suburbia."

"So you've seen pretty much everything," Kari's dad said, and Kari and her mother laughed.

They bought their tickets and I bought mine, and I followed them inside the stadium. There was a very crowded snack bar on the other side of the field and a huge set of bleachers, with probably ten to fifteen rows of seats that stretched along three-fourths of the field. At the top was a commentator's box. Past the bleachers was a stretch of grass on which many people, most of them seemingly high school students, sprawled upon on blankets and under umbrellas. On the other side of the field was the visitor's side; their bleachers were smaller and less packed.

"Let's go," Kari beckoned me after her. I hadn't realized during my observation of the stadium that her parents had separated from us to join their friends in the bleachers; Kari was leading me past the bleachers over to the grassy knoll, and I noticed finally the blanket tucked under her arm.

We reached the stretch of grass and Kari spread out the large blanket in an area near the front; she sat down and brushed at her jeans, smiling up at me. "Sit down!" she encouraged. I had been too busy looking around us at all the other students; many looked familiar but I hadn't formally met any of them. In fact, I hadn't really met anyone except for a few people in my classes.

I sat down next to Kari and asked, "So, this is how Odaiba spends every Saturday morning?"

She nodded. "Rain or shine. It gets even more crowded during playoff season, if you can believe it."

I shook my head, chuckling. "I can't. Are there more people living in this town?"

Grinning, she responded, "Maybe five." She closed her eyes and laid back on the blanket, smiling into the sunlight. "So how was your first week?" she asked lazily. "I hope you're starting to get used to Odaiba more."

I shrugged, even though she couldn't see me. "Kind of. It's just hard though… I keep thinking about what I would be doing back home and it makes me miss it. But I'm enjoying myself so far. And I'm sure it'll get better… it's only been one week."

"Exactly!" said Kari. "You'll meet more people and start your own traditions and make new experiences. You'll learn to love Odaiba."

"Well, I better," I said, smirking. "It's my home until I leave for college."

Kari took out her cell phone from her pocket and checked the time. "Still have fifteen minutes," she said. "I wonder where –"

"Hey Kari!" someone interrupted.

Sitting up and putting her hand over her eyes like a visor, Kari looked up. "Oh, hey Sora! I was just about to call you!"

Sora smiled at me and sat down on my other side on the blanket. She produced from behind her back an ice chest. "I got the food!"

"Awesome!" Kari said excitedly, sitting up on her knees and opening it. Inside was an array of soda cans, chips, dip, and water bottles.

"I brought more than I needed," Sora said, perhaps watching me mentally count the number of drinks, "but that way we can distribute the wealth."

"Good idea," Kari said. She glanced over at me. "This is Sora and my tradition for the soccer games. And we have generously decided to let you in on it."

"We decided that this year, we're going to try and get as many people involved as possible," Sora explained.

"Why this year?" I asked curiously.

"A few reasons," responded Sora. "One: because Kari's finally in high school and can cheer for the Odaiba Mustangs with pride without feeling like she's cheating on the middle school Jaguars. Two: because it's my last year. And the third reason ties it all together: this is the only year we'll be at this school together."

I nodded in understanding. "I see. Those are fantastic reasons. But were you only able to get me to come?"

Kari glanced at Sora. "Yeah. I got my person. Did you get yours?" She smirked.

Sora sighed. "No. I'm such a loser. I invited Izzy Izumi, my Physics partner, but I don't think he'll come. And I invited Mimi, but I forgot that she has to cheer. I also invited your brother, T.K., but he said he had band practice. Why his band is practicing on a Saturday morning is beyond me –"

I've spent minimal time with Matt since moving here, but I was starting to realize that he uses his band to get out of everything that he doesn't want to do.

-Mimi-

There are two things that go through my mind before every game I cheer for, and both things I would never, ever admit.

Number one: I always get kind of nervous before the game starts.

Number two: Sometimes I wish I could be one of the people lying out on the grass, instead of watching the game and pretending to care.

It's always kind of nerve-racking before we go out there, especially in Odaiba because so many people come out to every game. I've been to cheer camps before and met other cheerleaders who talk about how their schools lack any spirit at all and they rarely have an audience unless they're at a competition. Well, that's not how it is here. We always have an audience, whether it be for soccer or basketball. If there isn't an audience, we don't cheer. That's partly why we don't cheer for football.

And sometimes, I wish I could just relax. I wish I didn't have to wake up at 7:30 a.m. every Saturday morning to be at the school by 8:30 to change, coordinate hair and make-up with my fellow cheerleaders, make sure we know what routines we're doing and do a final run through. Then we have to wait around for the soccer players to finalize their strategies, actually go out and cheer, and then afterward we have to stay behind for thirty to forty-five minutes for our coaches to tell us everything we did wrong. It's an all day affair for us and sometimes I just wish that I could wake up at 9:30 like everyone else, sit out on the grass and tan and sip lemonade and socialize while only mildly paying attention to the game.

But my love for cheering outweighs that desire, so, year after year, I return. And I hope to get captain next year, which means even more time invested.

"Alright, girls, are you ready?" Coach Timber asked us for the eighth time that morning. We all nodded, our curly ponytails bobbing with every shake. I gripped my pom-poms in anticipation; I just want to get out on the field. Once I'm out there, my nerves obliterate. But the waiting part is what knots my stomach. "Okay, let's go."

We exited the locker room at the same time the soccer team left theirs. The locker rooms were right behind the visitor's bleachers, and as we emerged into the eyesight of the stadium, everyone's voices began to quiet down.

My fellow cheerleaders and I stood in two lines facing each other on the edge of the field, waving our pom-poms up in the air as the commentator began speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give a loud, enthusiastic welcome to the Odaiba Mustangs soccer team!" He roared, and the home side of the bleachers broke into loud cheers. The announcer named off the name of every starting player and their position, ending with Tai Kamiya as starting forward and captain. Each player ran in between the lines of cheerleaders as their name was called, and at the end the rest ran through together to join their coaches on the sidelines. Once all the introductions had ceased, and the two teams were doing some even more last minute strategizing, the cheerleaders took our spots between the home side sidelines and the crowd.

Facing the visitors, we broke into our first cheer: "Salt makes you thirsty, pepper makes you sneeze! But when it comes to soccer, we make you buckle at your knees! Goooo Mustangs!"

I beamed as I jumped up and down and high-kicked, remembering why I loved the sport. The rush that I get when I hear my squad's and my shouts echoing throughout the stadium, standing in view of everyone in the warm sun – two feelings that I love.

-Sora-

I kinda miss soccer. Sometimes when I go to Tai's games, I get frustrated seeing some of these players because I know that I'm better than most of them. But I also miss just being able play the game. I played it for so long and it was such a big part of my life. Even though I love tennis and don't regret quitting soccer for it, it's still kinda sad sometimes. It's like losing your first love.

I pulled out my phone and twirled it slightly in my fingers, feeling very much like a third-wheel. I've known Kari for forever and she's probably one of my closest female friends, but she's already seemingly closer with T.K. than she ever was with me. The two of them have been talking nonstop since I got here, about everything and nothing. I'm glad that Kari finally has a good friend – Tai always worried because she had a lot of casual friends but never someone like a best friend – but I just wish that there was someone else for me to talk to. I found myself scrolling through my contacts to Matt's name. Would it be weird if I texted him? My heart rate increased at the thought. Yes, very weird. We're not even really friends, and I already invited him and he said no. How pathetic would I look if I invited him again?

I shook my head and ran a hand through my red hair, irritated at myself.

A girl walked by, her dark hair in a ponytail and covered with a bandana. In her hand was a hotdog. Upon noticing her, Kari yelled, "Hey! Yolei!"

The girl jumped and glanced around. "Oh… hey Kari. How are you?" She wore very large, round glasses and seemed puzzled at the exchange.

"I'm great! Hey, do you wanna sit with us?" Kari asked, smiling. "The more the merrier!"

"Uh… sure," said Yolei apprehensively. "Let me just go let my parents know –" She stopped suddenly and blushed, turning on her heel and quickly walking away.

"Who's that?" I asked.

"Yolei. She's a sophomore," Kari replied. "T.K. and I have P.E. with her. Our numbers are right next to each other so I've been talking to her a lot this week. She's really nice and funny. I invited her to the game yesterday but she said she wasn't sure if she was coming."

Smirking, I said, "Kari, you're not just trying to get more people than me for our recruitment, are you?"

Kari laughed. "No, I swear! I like Yolei. Besides, I have more than you, anyway."

I nodded. Kari was like that – she wanted to be friends with everyone, hence why she is on friendly terms with nearly every person in the freshman class.

"Yolei's nice," T.K. agreed. "A little weird."

Kari giggled at him. "A little. I think it's mostly when she's around Davis, though. She's always annoyed when he's around, but when it's just her and I, she's more normal."

I raised my eyebrows suggestively. "Oh? Do she and Davis have a –"

"No," said Kari and T.K. at the same time. "They hate each other," T.K. finished.

I frowned. "Oh. I was hoping that Davis might have finally found a girl to take his mind off you, Kari."

Kari shook her head. "His crush will end soon, though. He'll find someone else."

"Maybe you'll find someone else," said T.K., "and then Davis will back off."

"Davis is too persistent," I said.

Kari nodded in agreement. "Plus, I'm not interested in dating. I'm fourteen; what do I need a boyfriend for?"

Our conversation was halted by the reappearance of Yolei. She sat down next to Kari and started unwrapping her hot dog.

"We haven't met before, Yolei," I began. "Hi, I'm Sora." I smiled and held out my hand to shake.

Yolei shook my hand. "You come to these games a lot, right? I saw you last year."

I nodded. "Yeah. Tai Kamiya's my best friend so I sort of have to go."

"My sisters make me go," Yolei said. "They've both graduated already but they half-wish they were still in high school. And honestly, the only reason I come is because if I didn't, my parents would make me work at our store."

"Your family has a store?" Kari said in surprise.

"Yeah. It's creatively christened, 'The Mart,'" Yolei said sheepishly.

"Oh, I've been there!" exclaimed Kari.

Sora nodded. "Me too. I think everyone has."

"Even I have," said T.K. "And I've only been here for a week."

"That's so cool that that's your store!" Kari said earnestly. "So do you get free food?"

Yolei laughed. "I wish. I kind of do, but then my parents bug me to pay them back so the joyous emotion is usually short-lived. And the best part? They don't pay me to work in it."

My jaw dropped. "What? That's awful!"

Rolling her eyes, Yolei said, "Yeah, they say that 'the store is what's supporting me' anyway, so why should they pay me more?" she finished sarcastically.

"I could never do that," Kari said truthfully.

T.K. nodded in agreement.

Yolei just shrugged and took a bite from her hot dog. Silence overtook us as we started to focus more our attention on the game. The score was still zero to zero, and the teams were pretty evenly matched. The ball would spend about a minute on one side of the field before switching. As a soccer expert, I can spot a boring game when I see one, and this was one of them.

"So, T.K.," I said, starting up conversation. Kari, T.K., and Yolei all turned to me eagerly, as if ready for their attention to be taken away from the game. "You moved here from Kyoto, right?"

He nodded.

"That must've been rough. Right outta junior high," I mused.

T.K. just shrugged. "Yeah, it was kind of annoying. But I have to deal with it, I guess. Hopefully I'll become close with Matt before he graduates."

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding. "You should invite him," I suggested casually, out of the blue. "What better way to bond?"

It took one second for me to blush. I couldn't figure out why I was so intent upon getting Matt to this game. They knew that I'd already invited him, and here I was, suggesting it again. I guess I just liked spending with him.

T.K. shrugged. "Might as well…" He took out his phone. "Hey, Matt?" he said, after the boy answered.
"It's me. Yeah. Well, I was just wondering if you'd like to come to the soccer game… yeah, I'm here. I'm sitting with Sora, Kari, and Yolei Inoue. Well, I thought you and I could hang out or something… yeah. Okay. Bye." He flipped his phone shut.

"What'd he say?" I asked.

"He said he's busy, but maybe." He shrugged again. "He's kind of anti-social."

"I'd noticed," I remarked. Even though we've never really been friends, after going to the same school as someone since fifth grade, a person realizes things like that. "Sorry that you're outnumbered by so much estrogen, T.K.," I added. "I tried to invite guys."

T.K. laughed. "It's okay. It's the thought that counts. We'll just have to focus on getting more guys here for next week. Maybe Matt's 'band practice,'" he used air-quotes, "can be rescheduled next week."

-Davis-

Soccer games are always so intense. But now that I'm on varsity, they're even more intense. Sure, I'm not a starter, and I may be one of those players that only play when we're really winning or really losing, but I can still see how intense it is from the bench.

Okay, maybe the game was kinda boring. But it's still intense. It has to be – it's varsity soccer!

I stifled a yawn. If there was one thing I would change about soccer games, it would be how early they are. I don't enjoy waking up early six days of the week. I love sleeping. I'll probably spend all of Sunday sleeping, waking up only to eat. If there's anything I love as much as sleeping, it's definitely eating.

I glanced behind me. The stands were completely filled – I remember the days when I sat in those stands with my parents and my older sister, Jun. Well, actually, Jun would sit on the lawn with her friends (since that's where all the "cool high school kids" sit, apparently), but my whole family would go. I spotted my parents sitting with some of their friends, and when my mom made eye contact with me, she waved broadly. I blushed and turned around quickly. Why was she so tactless!?

A few moments later, I decided it was safe to turn around again. I stared at the backs of the cheerleaders as they led the crowd in one of their cheers. The only problem with being a freshman on the varsity soccer team is that the cheerleaders won't look twice at me. The varsity cheerleading team is made up of mostly juniors and seniors, with the occasional sophomore, but for whatever reason they don't want to give freshmen the time of day. Whatever! They should all be fawning over me. After all, I am the only freshman on the varsity team.

Although… I guess it's not as impressive as Tai being the first ever freshman to actually start in a varsity game. I scowled. Always second best.

I was ripped out of my day dream by a loud scream. I stared, open-mouthed, at the cheerleaders as one girl was thrown up in the air – and instead of being caught on her way down, she hit the ground.

There was a mild uproar. People in the stands started screaming and jumping up, and the players on the field stopped what they were doing to crane their necks and find the source of the commotion. The referee blew his whistle to signal a timeout, although most people weren't paying attention by that point.

My fellow benched teammates and I also sprang from our sitting positions to glance at the injured girl. She was lying in a heap in the middle of her fellow cheerleaders, and I recognized her as Serena Dirt, a senior. Her right arm was bent at a weird angle, so unnatural looking that I felt sick and looked away from it.

"Oh my God, what happened?!" people were shouting.

"Did anyone call 911?"

There was no need for that, however – there is always an EMT at OHS's sporting events. I've been coming to these games ever since I was little and I remember asking my dad about them. He said that sports always have a level of danger to them, so there was always an EMT available just in case. That's also why there are always a couple of police officers on hand.

The EMT rushed forward, pushing through the crowd of cheerleaders, athletes, and coaches to get to Serena. The police officers, meanwhile, had entered the stands and ordered that everyone remain seated.

"It's just a break," the EMT said as he laid a portable stretcher on the ground next to Serena, who was whimpering. "I need one of you to help me."

Coach Timber stepped forward and helped to gently lift Serena onto the stretcher. She and the EMT carefully carried Serena out of the stadium, with everyone watching aptly.

My heart was pounding. I never thought anything this exciting would happen at my first game! How awesome! Well, not awesome that Serena broke her arm, but awesome that I'll always remember it!

The game resumed, although most people had stopped watching the game and instead watched as Serena was treated by the EMT before being whisked away in an ambulance.

-Kari-

I was very shaken following the incident with Serena Dirt. I hadn't actually seen what happened, but as soon as everyone started yelling I glanced over and saw her lying on the ground with her arm all mangled. I've never been able to stand the sight of blood or broken bones, so I had to look away.

"Oh my God, I hope she's okay!" Sora cried as Serena was carried away.

"Is every soccer game this eventful?" asked T.K.

I shook my head. "No, nothing like this has ever happened before!"

"Your expectations for every game after this will probably be really high now," joked Yolei.

Sora frowned. "Man, Mimi is going to kill my ear talking about this on Monday."

"Did anyone see what happened?" I asked. "I didn't actually see her fall –"

"I did," Yolei said. "Mimi tripped backwards over something and the other two weren't able to catch Serena. I think she put her arms out to break the fall."

Sora frowned. "That's awful."

The cheerleaders had retreated back to the locker room and the rest of the game remained cheer-less. A few moments after Serena was driven away in the ambulance, a shadow was cast upon our blanket as someone approached. I glanced up and recognized T.K.'s brother, Matt.

"Matt!" said T.K. in surprise. "You made it."

The older boy nodded as he sat down next to Sora. "Just in time, too. I got here just as that girl fell. Pretty dramatic, huh?"

"Very," Sora said. "I thought you had band practice?"

"It ended early," Matt said shortly. He glanced over at the scoreboard. "Zero-zero? Sounds like an exciting game."

"The most exciting part was a cheerleader breaking her arm," Yolei said.

"It's hard to beat that," T.K. added.

Matt looked at T.K. "Dad wants us to get lunch with him today. He has to work late tonight but he got a couple hours off for lunch."

T.K. nodded. "Alright."

"Mimi and Tai both told me that there's an after party type thing at this girl Mindy's house tonight," Sora said. "You guys should all come. Tai's going to force me to go but chances are he'll get preoccupied. I'll need some company."

I shrugged. "Maybe. I've never been one to enjoy big parties like that."

T.K. nodded. "Yeah, I'll think about it. I guess it might be a good idea since I'm new here and all."

Blushing, Yolei said, "Uh – I don't think I can. I have to, um, work tonight."

Sora frowned. "Too bad." She glanced over at Matt. "What about you, Matt?"

The older boy shrugged. "Maybe."

-T.K.-

After the ending of the game (OHS ended up winning, 1-0), Matt and I said our farewells to Kari, Sora, and Yolei and began the slow process of filing out of the stadium to meet our dad at a restaurant across town.

"So what made you decide to come?" I asked cordially.

Matt shrugged, his hands in his pants pockets. "Band practice ended early and I didn't really want to go home to an empty house."

I nodded. We lapsed into another silence as we slowly exited the stadium. Once out, we walked past the locker rooms on our way to Matt's car just as Tai strode out of the locker room, his sports bag over his shoulder. "Hey, T.K.!" he called. Matt and I glanced over at him with our eyebrows raised. "And Matt," Tai added with less enthusiasm as he approached us.

"Uh… hi, Tai," I said. Matt said nothing.

"Are you guys going to Mindy's party tonight?" he asked us.

"I don't know," I said. "I was thinking about it. Why?"

"Well…" he said slowly. "I don't know. I was thinking you and Kari could both go. I mean, I was planning on taking her and it'd be good if she had another friend there too, you know? I don't know how many other freshmen will be at this party."

I scowled slightly. So this was all just another ruse for Tai to get Kari and me to flirt again. I sighed silently and decided that there would be no use in fighting him on it. "Sure. I'll ask her."

"Oh," Tai said, his eyes wandering over to Matt. "You can come too, Matt." I could tell that he'd rather not have Matt there, but he was also smart enough to know that it would look suspicious if he didn't invite Matt. Not that he wasn't acting suspiciously anyway.

"Maybe," Matt grumbled, providing Tai with the same response he'd given Sora. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to be somewhere." He beckoned me to follow him as he walked off. I took one last glance back at Tai, who winked and gave me a thumbs-up.

"What was that about?" Matt asked me, once we were far enough away from Tai.

"Beats me," I said. "I guess Tai just took a liking to me." I figured Matt didn't believe me – really, who would? – but, in true Matt fashion, he didn't press the matter.