I sat down at the table in the clubroom. I was waiting for Hinata and Kageyama to join us. It was a little awkward with just Tsukishima and I sitting here. We had been waiting for at least fifteen minutes. I drummed my fingers against the table to try and drown out the silence between us.
"Can you stop that?" Tsukishima said casting a glare down at me.
I moved my hands off the table and dropped my head. I started fiddling with my fingers, trying to think of something to say, but I couldn't think of anything. We sat there in silence for a few minutes.
"Listen, (Y/n) I'm-" He was cut off by the door swinging open. Hinata, Kageyama, and Yachi walked in. Hinata smiled brightly at me.
"We're ready to learn!" He shouted as he sat down beside me at the table.
"Tch."
We all looked over to Tsukishima. He glared at Hinata before sitting down across from me. Yachi and Kageyama made their way from the door and sat down at the table. The boys unpacked their bags, pulling out their notebooks and a couple pages of questions I had given them yesterday to work on.
Did you have any questions over what I gave you yesterday? The robotic voice played my message.
They looked down at their papers and then started asking me any questions they had.
"How'd you get so good at English?" Hinata asked after I helped him correct his spelling.
I while back I decided that I wanted to learn it. I got really into this American show, and it became difficult to read the subtitles when so many people were talking at once. So, I decided to study it on my own. My mom found out about it and asked her friend in America to tutor me.
"That's amazing (Y/n)!" Hinata shouted.
I smiled at him. It was just something to do when I couldn't do anything else. Plus, it was interesting to learn how their sentence structures were so different from our own. Once I got an idea in my head it was hard to give it up until I completed it.
"Are you fluent?" Yachi asked.
I thought about it a moment before answering her.
I'm not fully fluent, but I'm closer to being fluent than not. I shrugged as I pushed play on the message.
"So, you don't even need to pay attention during English class. You're so lucky." Hinata beamed at me.
Tsukishima let out a chuckle, we all turned to look at him. I gave him a look, one that said 'what?'.
"Nothing. She just got in trouble the other day for not paying attention." He smirked at me. I glared back at him.
The others turned to look at me, but I waved them off. I pointed back to the papers in front of the boys. They began working again, asking questions here and there. They were struggling less now, but still had a long way to go.
The rest of the days went on about the same. Tsukishima, Yachi, and I helped the boys study after practice was over. Yachi and I even helped a few times during lunch. Tsukishima didn't bother helping then, opting to eat instead.
They were working hard to reach their goal, and I was proud of them for that. They asked questions and were starting to understand the material better. It didn't help that Tsukishima kept making snide remarks towards them, but he still helped, nonetheless. I just hoped that we were able to help enough for them to pass and go to the training camp.
The day came for us to find out whether they scored high enough on their exams or not. I was waiting in the gym, anxiously tapping my foot. I was really hoping that they passed. I started chewing on my thumbnail. I wasn't good at the not knowing. I needed to have all the answers out in front of me or I couldn't feel complete. Anxiety was gripping at my chest.
"You're going to chew your finger off if you don't stop." Tsukishima said, looking down at me. I didn't bother answering. I was too nervous. He sighed.
"If they fail, it won't be your fault (Y/n)." I looked up at him. Was he actually trying to comfort me? Before I could respond the doors to the gym opened. I shot my eyes to the two figures walking in.
Kageyama and Hinata walked in, heads hung low. My eyes widened at the sight. I knew what that meant, they didn't pass. Now they weren't going to go to the training camp. I could feel tears prickling my eyes. I should have helped them study more. I didn't do enough. All my thoughts were running rampant, pointing an accusing finger at me.
A hand was placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Tsukishima, he had a frown etched on his face.
"Breathe." He whispered. I stared into his amber eyes. They were laced with worry. I took in a deep breath, settling myself down. The corners of my mouth twitched up, giving him small smile in thanks, He removed his hand from my shoulder.
The two boys walked over to us; heads still hung low.
"I'm sorry (Y/n), we failed." Hinata said, dropping his head down.
I looked at the two boys on front of me. They looked so heartbroken. It hurt my heart to see them this way. I decided not to show them the sadness that was gripping its way around my heart. Instead, I gave them a smile. I typed out a message on my phone, letting it speak for me.
You tried your best, right?
The looked up at me, surprise lit across their faces. They nodded.
"You're not mad?" Kageyama asked.
Why would I be mad if you did the best you could? That's all I could ask for.
I wrapped them up in a hug, hoping that it'd somehow be able to make them feel better. That it could help convey that I was proud of them for trying their best. When I pulled away from them, I gave them another smile. I hated to ask, but I needed to know.
How many did you fail?
"Just one." Hinata said. I looked to Kageyama, and he nodded.
That's not too bad. Maybe you can still make it to the camp after retaking the exams.
I looked at them, hopeful that it could happen. They gave me small smiles.
"We just need to find a way to get there..." Hinata said.
Tanaka was standing off to the side and overheard the conversation. He pulled the boys away from me, whispering in their ears. I stared after them in confusion. After a few minutes Hinata came bounding over to me with a smile. Tsukishima walked away, deciding it was best not to witness whatever was going to happen.
"We're going to go to the training camp after we take our exams!" I smiled, excited for them both.
How are you going to get there?
"You'll have to wait and see...well, not see but hear about it later. We have to pass our exams first. I'm not going to jinx it."
I pouted a little. I wanted to know, but I wasn't going to be held accountable for jinxing anything. I gave him a small nod. Just then, the third years walked into the gym then, looking at the boys expectantly. The two first years quickly looked away from their gazes.
After Daichi and Sugawara learned that Hinata and Kageyama failed one exam each, they lectured the boys about knowing when it was time to study. They reminded them that academics were just as important as volleyball. Telling them that they can't do one without the other. Hinata and Kageyama frowned but told them they'd work harder from now on.
I hoped that that was true.
After everyone was done with the lecture, practice began. I watched as the boys began serving. I stared in awe as Asahi hit the volleyball to the other side of the court. It smashed down with such intense force. My eyes widened to the size of saucers. I always thought that he was intimidating, but I didn't realize he was that strong. It was scary to watch. I was really glad that I didn't have to be the one receiving it. I shuddered at the thought.
"He's not as scary as he looks." I glanced to my left to see Kiyoko smiling at me.
I looked at her, with a raised brow. She couldn't be serious. In that moment Asahi looked like someone you wouldn't want to be on the bad side of.
"He might look scary on the outside, but he's really a big softy." I looked back over to the court. Nishinoya was jumping around the giant of a boy, shouting praises at him. Asahi looked down at him, he had a proud smile on his face but looked embarrassed.
"You see what I mean?" I peered back at the older girl beside me. I guess I could see him being a cinnamon roll in disguise. He had been nothing but nice to me when I came to watch their practices. I nodded at her, giving her a small smile.
On the other side of the court Tanaka walked over to Nishinoya and nudged him. Noya glanced up at the taller boy, he had tears brimming in his eyes as he looked across the gym. Noya followed his gaze and saw the two girls smiling at one another. Their hearts warmed at the sight.
"Kiyoko is...smiling..." Tanaka started.
"With (Y/n)-chan." Nishinoya finished for him. Both boys began crying at their beloved goddesses.
Not knowing that the boys were staring, standing not too far away, you and Kiyoko continued chatting about the guys on the team. You were glad that you got to have such an amazing senpai; one that seemed to understand you without you having to say anything.
I glanced around the court. I was really glad that I came to this school and got to meet so many amazing people. The guys on the team were all so wonderful. They supported one another, helping out when someone was down, cheering each other as they grew stronger. They were like one big happy family.
Practice continued; the boys moved on from serving to receives. I thought about how different they must be from when they first started. Kiyoko-senpai had told me how they lost against a high-ranking school in the Interhigh Preliminaries. The boys had been devastated. She told me how they all decided to work harder and get revenge at the Spring Interhigh National Tournament. She explained that the third years had stayed to help get their revenge so that they could go to Nationals together. It was truly amazing to see how determined they were. Each one of them was hungry for victory.
Kiyoko-senpai pulled me from my thoughts. She motioned at my phone. I had been in such a daze I hadn't realized I received a message. I smiled in thanks and looked at my phone.
[Masami]: Hey kid! Just wanted to say hi and check in. I hope school has been good. I was wondering if you wanted to hang out soon? :)
I stared at the message on my phone. I had completely forgotten about Masami. I felt bad, thinking about how she had been so sweet when we met. She was even asking if I wanted to hang out. My fingers hovered over the keys as I thought about how I was going to reply.
"Everything okay?" Kiyoko-senpai was looking down at me. I nodded and showed her the message.
"Friend from your old school?" She asked.
I shook my head and opened the note app on my phone.
Someone I met when I first moved here. She was a waitress at a diner my mom and I went to.
She read over the words and smiled at me.
"So, what are you going to do?"
I sighed. I'm not so great with new people. I'm not sure how I even managed to become friends with the team so fast. It was probably because they sucked me into their world. I was lucky that they had all been so welcoming to me.
Kiyoko-senpai placed her hand on mine, giving me a smile.
"You don't have to respond to her right now if you don't want to. But it seems like she wants to be your friend. All you have to do is give her a chance. After all, that's what you did with us." She motioned out at the court.
She was right. If I were willing to give all of them a chance, why couldn't I give her one too. I smiled at her, giving her hand a squeeze before typing out a message to Masami.
[(y/n)]: Hey Masami-san, school has been good. I've met some interesting people. How about I tell you about it in person? :) When were you thinking about hanging out?
I took in a deep breath and smiled up at Kiyoko-senpai before hitting send. I was glad that she was able to encourage me to reply. Maybe making new friends wouldn't be so bad.
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Author-chan here. I'm really hope that you didn't find this chapter incredibly boring. I promise the next ones won't be like this. I just felt like this needed to be done. So please stick with me and continue reading the story :).
Remember: Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions.