Chapter 5

Man. This isn't working. Aomine stopped dribbling the ball and jogged to the only dry area where he left his belongings. He flung his hair and little droplets of water slid off. The heavy rain continued to pour mercilessly onto the court. The basketball can barely bounce. I'm not bringing this wet thing home with me. Aomine laid the ball down in the shaded area and ran with his bag through the rain.

…..

The heavy rain ceased within a few hours. The grounds were still wet, but the dark clouds passed.

"Kineno-san. Otsukaresama deshita!" the manager said to the girl taking off her waitress outfit when they were at their lockers. "Who would've guessed that the rain would bring in so many customers? We were short on workers today. You really saved us." The grinning manager reached into her pocket and pulled out a sealed envelope. "Here's your pay for today. Tips and everything included." Sayumi smiled and thanked the woman. "I'll call you when we're in a crisis like this again," the manager casually said and walked out.

As soon as the door closed, Sayumi swiftly lifted the cover of the envelope and glimpsed inside. She let out a sigh of relief. Just enough to buy Aomine-kun a new basketball and get mine back. Please be there. Sayumi grabbed all her belongings and flew out the door.

When Sayumi reached the quiet park, she looked around desperately. When it finally occurred to her that the sky was unusually dark, she looked at her watch. 9:18. Of course he wouldn't be here.

Sayumi searched her bag and pulled out Aomine's phone. No missed calls. He should've called by now. Did he really not care much about this? Maybe there's some information about how to locate him in here. To her surprise, his phone had no pass lock. Sorry for the intrusion. Wait. Maybe I should wait until tomorrow. I feel a little guilty. Aomine-kun. Please call.

Sayumi took a final look around in case she missed the boy. Vacant. Sayumi gloomily walked out of the park and headed towards the nearest fast food restaurant for dinner.

...

It was an eventful day, but Sayumi found it surprisingly difficult to close her eyes. Each time she shut her eyes, she opened them right back up. And each time she opened them, they would wander to the two phones sitting on her nightstand.

When she couldn't stand it anymore, Sayumi slid out of her bed and took Aomine's phone and searched up his contacts. If he wasn't going to look for her, then she will. She scanned through the list for any possible people she knew.

Of course there isn't anyone he knows that I would know. I guess I'll just settle for... A girl's name! Wait. That's the only girl on his phone. Momoi. Maybe his girlfriend. Definitely can't call her. I don't really want to create any misunderstandings. Hmm... Kise Ryouta. Sounds strangely very familiar. Where have I heard that name before? Doesn't matter. Kise it is. I'll call him right now. No, I can't. He wouldn't be awake at 4:59. I should sleep too. The tired girl finally dozed off to sleep only to be woken up an hour and a half later by her alarm clock.