I walked after Max, following a few steps behind. Within a few minutes, the Bladebreakers and the All-Stars were on a bus travelling to the American team's base. I stared out the window, not speaking to anyone. The All-Stars talked cheerfully to my friends.
A red-haired girl with glasses sank into a chair beside me. I jumped and watched her uncomprehendingly.
"It does get kind of loud, doesn't it?" She said. "My name's Emily. You're Sandy, right?" I nodded and continued to watch her. The girl continued, seeming oblivious to my silence.
"Are you excited for the finals? How long have you been 'blading anyway?"
"A few months," I murmured. Emily's eyes went wide.
"Only a few months? Wow, how did you get this far?" She exclaimed. I crossed my arms and looked away. Noticing my expression, Emily backtracked, "Oh, sorry. That must have sounded rude. But really, you've only been beyblading a few months? You're pretty good."
I shrugged. My mind was wandering, though I knew that I should have been talking to Emily. I just couldn't focus when the news of the previous fire kept surfacing in my brain. Emily frowned at me suddenly.
"Do you always zone out like that? It's not very nice to ignore people who are just trying to talk to you. I'm trying to include you, you know," She said. I looked at her in surprise.
"Include me?" I asked. Emily readjusted her glasses and looked annoyed.
"Don't sound so surprised. You're sitting in the back of the bus and haven't said a word to anyone since we arrived," Emily said heatedly.
"I just don't like talking to people," I said apologetically.
"Well, you won't make any friends that way," she replied. "And I don't just mean with us." Emily nodded toward the Bladebreakers sitting several seats ahead and added, "I'm talking about your team, too. Beyblading is a team sport, Sandy. Don't forget that."
Emily finally moved to another seat, closer to her team. I observed as she struck up conversation with Michael and began talking animatedly. Her words sounded eerily familiar. Hiro's voice came back to me. "I invited you to be part of a team, Sandy, not a solo 'blader." After thinking for a little bit, I came to a decision. The thought of talking to other people made me feel a little sick, but I quietly stood up and moved to the seat just behind the rest of my team. Kenny glanced up from his laptop and looked back at me.
"Oh hey, Sandy," he said, looking inquiring. "Did you decide to join us?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Good, you can help me. What do you think would be better? Increased spin for greater attack power or an increased defense ring that would last longer in matches?" Kenny asked.
"Um…." I took out Nyclix and studied her carefully. "Well, that depends on whose bey you're talking about. I personally wouldn't mind added attack power, but don't really want a thicker defense ring weighing my bey down. I rely on speed. But someone like Max, for instance, would probably prefer a better defense ring." From several rows ahead, Max glanced back at us.
"What about me?" He said. Kenny shook his head.
"Oh, nothing. We were just discussing attack versus defense," the short boy said. Max shot his fist into the air as if he had just won an award or something.
"Defense all the way," Max cried out. Then he smiled. "It's nice to see you coming to sit by us, Sandy." I nodded feeling a bit embarrassed. A grumpy cough came from next to me. I whipped around to find Kai glaring at me from the other side of the seat. I hadn't realized he was there. Immediately, heat rose to my face and I opened my mouth to apologize. But Kai simply dropped his head back onto his chest and closed his eyes in sleep.
I glanced at Kai and shifted over a few inches, uncomfortable now at the seat I'd chosen. The spiky, gray-haired boy seemed to scowl even in his sleep. I studied his face carefully, trying to picture what one of his smiles would look like.
"What are you staring at?" Kai mumbled. I jumped and spun my head to face the front of the bus.
"Nothing," I said. After several minutes of driving, we finally arrived at a large square building. Tons of people swarmed around it, entering and exiting the building. All of them looked serious and seemed to have somewhere to be. The bus came to a halt at one of the parking stalls. I hesitantly reached out a hand to wake Kai, but he was already stirring. My out-stretched hand almost brushed his arm, but I quickly jerked it back.
The teams filed out of the door and I stared in awe. Several beybladers huddled around high-tech training stadiums and a few wore fancy launchers that had some kind of computer screen attached. I watched as they called 'Let it rip' and fired their beys into the stadium.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Mrs. Tate asked, coming up next to me. I nodded, walking closer to one of the stadiums that seemed to track beyblade movements on its surface. Brightly colored lines of different colors traced the paths of the 'bladers that were using it. They seemed to be trying to work on accuracy and countering attacks.
The beyblader to my right groaned, retracting his bey as it slid out of the desired pattern.
"Better luck next time, Devin," the 'blader on the left laughed. Gradually, the people around the tracking stadium realized I was there.
"Who are you?" The right beyblader, Devin, asked. The beyblader on the left reclaimed his bey. I opened my mouth to respond, but the left 'blader cut me off.
"It looks like she's with the beyblade team from Japan. She probably doesn't speak English," he said. Then turning and smiling at me, "You want to beyblade?" The boy slowed his words down ridiculously, emphasizing every vowel and gesturing to his launcher and the stadium.