Talking to the Moon

Chapter 2

Club Day

A couple of days went by and Blake was thinking about Yang. The thought of her having another boyfriend was so discouraging to her. However, she tried not to let it get to her. Today was the day to sign up for clubs and she was going to make the best of it. She quickly got ready and headed out without eating breakfast. At first, her mother was concerned, but caught her running out of the house with a smile so she decided to let it go.

When she got to school, things immediately got interesting. All across campus, tables and booths were set up for all of the different clubs offered at the school. She took a step onto the campus and was immediately grabbed by someone from behind. She looked and saw Yang with a smile on her face.

"Hey Blake, you excited for today?"

"You bet. I've been waiting for this day ever since school started. Do you know what club you're gonna join?"

"I don't really know yet. I haven't been thinking about that. What about you? What are you gonna try for?"

"Archery. I've been doing it for so long and I've heard that this school has a world-class team."

"Nice. Hey, if I were to join with you, would you mind teaching me how to do it?"

Thump thump. Did she just ask me to help her? Wow, this feels so great. My chest feels like someone's sitting on it, but it feels great. She looked into Yang's eyes and she was being honest. Maybe this was finally the time the two of them could bond. She took Yang's hand and guided her through the event. She had only one objective and it was the archery club.

As the two of them continued to weave the crowd, Blake felt some resistance and when she looked back, she was immediately crushed. She saw that Yang's hand was no longer in hers. She looked back to see her and her boyfriend embracing each other in their arms. She turned around and closed her eyes. She thought that this was finally the time, but only fools constantly think optimistically. She wandered through the crowd and continued to look for the archery club. After a few minutes, she finally found the booth and to her surprise, she saw someone who she recognized.

"Weiss? You're in the archery club."

"Yep, captain, in fact." Blake's face lit up. This girl's been running through her mind all of this time and now, she found out that she was the captain of the archery club.

"Um, I was wondering if I could join your prestigious club."

"Oh, you're more than welcome to. It's just that we hold tryouts to be accepted in. We have a standard to uphold and we try not to let the honor of this club fall."

"Of course. I totally understand. I'm more than willing to prove my worth. When are the tryouts?"

"Right after the club festival. If you didn't know, school is cancelled for the day so that the clubs get all of our business done before school starts to intensify."

"I see. Well, then I will definitely be there."

"Great. Tryouts will be at the track field at 2pm."

"Alright, I will be there."

"Wonderful. It was great seeing you again." Blake's eyes widened. There was more glow to her now than she's ever seen. Also, she was dressed in the traditional archery apparel and she was definitely good-looking in it. Weiss handed her a flier before she left to other things.

Even though she did, her mind was still on Weiss. She wanted to know how good she was and she also wanted to work with her. Archery was such a classy thing to Blake and to find someone else she knows who does it made her feel much better about things. However, she was also thinking about Yang. She was curious as to what she was picking for a club. It was probably something stupid though. The last time she saw her was when she was with her boyfriend so they probably went to something where they could spend a lot of time together. Her head dropped. It was incredible how fast her attitude went from upbeat to sad. As her head continued to stare at the ground, she bumped into someone and nearly fell to the ground.

"Hey Blake, why do we keep losing track of each other?" It was Yang without her boyfriend again. This time, she was ready. She looked around to make sure nothing would bother them. Her eyes spanned the entire campus and didn't see her boyfriend in sight. "So did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yeah, it was great. I actually have to get ready for the tryouts."

"Tryouts? A club has tryouts?"

"Well, it's a club and a team at the same time so it makes sense that there are tryouts."

"Ah, got it."

"Um Yang?" Blake pressed her hands together and started to look shy. She tried to look up, but Yang's eyes were too intimidating to look at dead-on. "Would you mind watching me during the archery tryouts?" She closed her eyes and clenched her fists.

"I'd love to." Blake couldn't believe it. Yang actually agreed to something they could do together. She quickly checked her surroundings and saw that her boyfriend was still nowhere to be seen. She took a sigh of relief and returned her attention to Yang.

"Awesome. Actually, I have to go and get my things. I'll be right back." She braced herself and ran home. As she did, she was constantly thinking about Yang. She was still thinking about Yang's promise. It seemed kind of weird that she was so willing to watch her, but that didn't matter. She simply put on a smile and continued home.

When she got home, she ran to the sports room and rummaged through her things to find her archery stuff. She pulled out her uniform and pressed it against her body. It still looked like it fits so that gave her a smile. Her uniform was mostly white with a blue highlight in the middle of the chest area. When she put it on, she spun around and felt so comfortable. It's been awhile since she's worn it, but it didn't feel like it all. She then went to the closet and opened up the door. Inside, her bow was hanging from the back and she slowly pulled it out. The string wasn't strung so she quickly put it on and held it in her hands. It felt a little small, but it didn't matter. She was ready to give it her all. She looked up at the clock and saw that it was 1:45pm.

"Oh crap!" She grabbed her things and ran out. As fast as she could, she booked it back to school where she made it just in time. The event for archery was just starting and luckily, there were others in front of her so she didn't have to sweat too much.

The ones who were participating were made to wait on the field while the spectators were in the stands, getting a good view of the entire thing. The tryout was simple. Each participant got one shot on 3 different targets at different distances. One shot was 10m, another was 15m, and the other one was 45m.

As Blake watched, things were kind of interesting. Everyone who went in front of her were good. Their shots were very accurate and they were all really composed. However, no one was able to get a yellow on the 45m target. The other two shots made easy, but no one was able to get inside the inner circle which gave her some hope. If she could outshoot her competitors, it was a for-sure to get in.

However, every time someone finished, someone from the archery club followed immediately after. They shot at the target and outshot the every one of the competitors' shots. After that, they pointed out to the crowd that the archery club was able to outshoot any shot out there. This made her a little nervous. She knew that the club was good, but she never knew how intense it really was.

Before it was her turn, she looked out into the crowd and tried to find Yang. When she did spot her, she became a little saddened. Yang was there, but she was sitting with her boyfriend. He was all over, but she was trying her best to concentrate on the event. When Blake's name was called, she was able to kick him off which made her feel a little better. She took to the field and aligned herself with the first target. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She let go and her arrow was an inch to the right of the bull's eye. Before she moved on to the next one, she stared at the target one last time with the thought that she could have done better. She shook it off and moved on to the second target.

Like the last time, a slow breath in and an even slower breath out. Crack! The arrow struck the target right below the bull's eye. She was getting closer, but it still wasn't what she wanted. At this point, she was afraid that her performance wasn't good enough to get it. As she faced down the last target, she aligned herself perfectly and looked at the ground. She then at the crowd to see Yang's face one last time. She was looking back at her with such concentration. That look she gave her gave her a new sense of strength. She pulled out an arrow and strung it on her bow. She pulled it back slowly and stared down the target. Incredibly, it seemed as if the target got closer to her. She breathed in and then out even slower. She released the arrow and saw its entire flight. Crack! The crowd gasped. It was a bull's eye.

Everyone went nuts. At a distance of 45m, she was able to get a bull's eye. She looked into the crowd and saw Yang cheering her name. Suddenly, the crowd went silent. Blake turned around and saw Weiss taking the field. She lined up with the target and began to shoot. Her first shot was a bull's eye, whiffing her arrow. Her second shot was also a bull's eye, shredding off some of the fur of her arrow. When she walked to the third target, she lowered her arm and smiled.

"Congratulations! Blake Belladonna, you have been accepted into the Archery Club." The crowd cheered her name once again. This time, she saw Yang jump from the stands and head towards her. She dropped her things and ran towards her. They met hand-and-hand and smiled at each other.

"Good job Blake."

"Thank you. I tried my best, but for a second, I thought it wasn't going to be good enough."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore."

"I know. It feels so good." All of a sudden, a hand gripped her shoulder. She turned and saw Yang's boyfriend smiling at her.

"Good job Blake, that was awesome."

"Thank you." She didn't look at him. She couldn't. She just turned her head towards him and nodded her head.

"Well, Yang and I are gonna head out. We got some plans tonight so we'll catch you later." He wrapped his arm around Yang's waist and walked off.

"Bye Blake."

"Bye." She waved goodbye, but Yang was too far away for her to acknowledge it. She dropped her head and went back to grab her things. Before she left, Weiss met up with her again.

"Hey, that was really impressive. Did you know that you're the first person to not allow me to shoot all three targets?"

"Wow, really? That's really cool."

"Yeah, it is. You definitely have skill, and we all look forward to working with you." She smiled. "Well, we'll let you know when we meet up. Be sure to practice hard and we'll see you soon."

"Alright, bye."

The school finally calmed down as the day came to an end. With her things packed, Blake made it back home to see her mother making dinner. The two of them got to eat together where Blake shared her amazing day with her. Her mother always cared about what went on with Blake and that made her feel good. Not being able to share such things with Yang made her feel bad, but her filled in that missing piece. After everything else, she got ready for bed. She jumped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

Today was such an awesome day. I get to be a part of the best Archery Club in the region and best of all, Yang got watch me shoot. She definitely enjoyed. It would have been even better if her boyfriend wasn't there. She sighed and threw away that thought.

But wow, Weiss was a good shot. 2 bull's eyes just like that. And I thought I was good. However, this was good. There's always someone better somewhere else in the world. Now, I can just do my best to meet her standards and maybe pass her up. With that thought, her face lit up as she turned her head and looked out the window. She saw the moon shining down on her and she closed her eyes.

Give me another good day tomorrow. Make things unexpected and something I'll never forget.

End of Chapter 2