Hey. Sorry for the late update. Here it is.
MimiZ - It's Gemini :)
Chapter 3
"Ruka-chan?"
The blonde tore her gaze away from the window and looked up to Kyoko who was standing by her desk. Almost everyone has gone home except for the cleaners. Kyoko herself has her bag slung over her shoulder already.
"Kyoko! Hurry up!" One of the three girls standing on the doorway shouted. Two of them were Ruka's classmate.
"A minute!" The brunette called back before looking back to Ruka.
"Is there something I can help you with, Kyoko-chan?" She asked politely although her tone is bland. The blonde hasn't been herself since… lunch break.
"Umm, no. It's just that… my friends and I are going to check out this newly-opened sweet café. Do you want to come?" Kyoko beamed hopefully.
"I-I'm sorry. I can't. I have to go home early…" A lie.
"Oh." The brunette looked crestfallen for a second before her face lit up again. "Next time then?"
Ruka has no other option but to agree.
"S-Sure. Next time." She assured halfheartedly.
"Okay. See you tomorrow!"
When the blonde was alone to herself once again, her head immediately dropped to her desk with a thud. The remaining students stared at her for a second before continuing their works.
"Ouch."
Turned out that smacking her head on the desk wasn't a good idea. Aside from the heaviness in her chest, she's also carrying a swell on her forehead.
Should I fetch an ice-pack in the clinic?
Ruka glimpsed at the direction of the clinic. Which was on the other side of the campus. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she decided to just continue her way to where students parked their bicycles.
But I can't ride my bicycle in this condition. If I don't want to get caught in an accident, anyway.
She's definitely not walking home.
"Ugh!" The blonde stomped to the opposite direction, grumbling under her breath.
"Pardon my intrusion." Ruka mumbled with a small bow as she opened the door to the clinic. When she raised her head to greet the nurse, she was surprised to find her dark-haired classmate instead. "Takao-kun!"
"Oh, Maihara-san. Yo!" Takao greeted with a wave. He was leaning his weight on the Nurse's table.
The blonde blinked at him and wondered if Shin-chan was with him.
It must've shown in her face because he said
"I'm alone. Shin-chan is in the gym already. He's pretty intent on practicing, what with the Inter High almost coming up." He shrugged.
Ruka's first reaction was: Oh, okay.
And then with her eyes wide…
Oh my god! How did he—
"H-how… what…?"
"Oi! What happened to your forehead?!"
"…eh?" She touched her forehead and… "Ow!"
"Here. This is the last one. We need refilling again." Takao handed an ice-pack to the blonde girl who was sitting on a cot. They have moved from the entryway to the inside of the clinic.
He grabbed a nearby plastic chair and spun it around so that its backrest was on his front as he sat down, legs on each side of the chair.
"Thank you…" Ruka mumbled and placed the object over the bump on her forehead.
Wait—we?
Again, it must've shown on her face because he said
"I'm in the Health Committee."
Oh.
"Oh." She said stupidly. Ruka paused for a second then opened her mouth again, about to ask how her classmate knew she was looking for his partner. "How—wait, how do you manage your time? Basketball is pretty intense and you're a starter, aren't you? And yet you're still in the Health Committee…"
The blonde couldn't get over that fact.
Takao grinned.
"How do you know I'm a starter? Do you watch our games?" He asked instead, eyes twinkling mischievously. Ruka blushed scarlet. The dark-haired laughed.
"I-I..!"
The dark-haired stopped laughing several seconds later and leaned his cheek on his palm, grinning.
"I'm just teasing you." Takao said lightly. "Anyway, the Health Committee wasn't really that hard. Just assisting Mrs. Nakamura, mostly. Plus, we rarely held big events. They make sure to never cross sched with the basketball events. The busiest time of the year for us in Health Committee is just the beginning of the year where we help with the annual Medical Examination."
The blonde nodded in understanding. She bit her lower lip, hesitating, and then opened her mouth.
"The Inter High is two months away…"
Her classmate stared at her for a second before nodding his head.
"Yeah. That's why I'm waiting for Mrs. Nakamura to come back so that I can give her the coach's note." He held up a folded paper between his index and middle finger that Ruka hasn't noticed before then tucked it back to his pocket.
Silence followed. It was Takao who broke it.
"You sure know a lot about basketball. A fan?" He inquired as his hand shot out to her forehead. Ruka started at his sudden action. "Hold it here, it's melting."
She did as told.
"Thanks." The blonde mumbled softly. "And yeah, you could say that I'm a fan." She answered honestly. She was first attracted to the sport in the second year of her middle school after watching an NBA championship game. "I know a lot about it but couldn't dribble the ball to save my life."
Takao snickered. Ruka smiled softly, musing inwardly how easy it is to talk to her dark-haired classmate.
If only Midorima-kun—
Her thought snapped back to her weird of a crush and remembered her supposed-question before she was distracted with the 'Health Committee' news.
"I'm alone. Shin-chan is in the gym already. He's pretty intent on practicing, what with the Inter High almost coming up."
The blonde bit her lip worriedly. How did he know she was looking for Midorima? Is it really that obvious? Does he know about her feelings for his basketball partner?
Takao studied Maihara at the corner of his eyes. His sight is directed to the sunset outside the window but he was painfully aware of everything she's doing. Eyebrows creased, lower lip rolling between her teeth, eyes darting to him from time to time. It was when she lowered the ice pack from her forehead that he was sure she's ready to talk.
"Um, Takao-kun?"
"Hm?"
Swallow.
"How did you know that I was… looking for Midorima-kun earlier?"
The dark-haired male shifted his eyes to her. She suddenly looked… small. Vulnerable.
Should I tell her?
He shifted on his seat, his palm no longer cradling his cheek.
"The others seemed to look for Shin-chan whenever I'm alone. Seriously, it's not like we're attached hips to hips." Takao paused when the blonde girl blushed. He mentally went over his own words but found nothing to trigger the girl's reaction.
He shrugged inwardly. Girls.
As Maihara nodded at his words, he folded his arms over the backrest of the chair and buried the lower portion of his face in it, studying her. He was contemplating whether to tell her or not.
And then…
"Do you want me to help you with Shin-chan?"
Midorima moved his lucky item for the day, a raccoon stuffed toy, closer to his side. He was taking a break from his three-point shootout and is now sitting on the bench. He couldn't practice anything aside from his three points without Takao. The latter has been gone for quite a long time now and their teammates have been taking it out on him.
"Midorima! Is Takao still out?!" The hot-tempered, tropical fruit magician Miyaji Kiyoshi shouted to the bespectacled male.
"Not yet." He answered, scowling. The older male went on about how the Hawk Eye wielder was ditching their practice.
"Oi, Midorima. Tell us if he's back." Their team captain, Otsuba Taisuke ordered before continue practicing.
What's with these people? It's not like he and Takao were attached hips to hips, nanodayo. There's no way he would know when the dark-haired would come back. Unless the latter would text him, of course.
Midorima tipped his glasses.
"Do you want me to help you with Shin-chan?"
Ruka stared at her dark-haired classmate, mouth hanging open, eyes wide. She probably looked like a dead fish but she couldn't care less.
Takao smiled somewhat sheepishly and scratched the back of his head before his eyes drift lower.
"Oh, you're skirt is getting wet." He pointed to the ice pack on her lap.
The blonde didn't move, still gaping at him. The basketball player sighed.
"I didn't mean to find out. It was… pure accident."