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19. A Rain Calling Its Thunder

  Was I in the Zone, the Flow State, Nirvana, etc.? I might only be one when it comes to cospy management. Sewing, accessory assemblies, and 3D printing suck almost all of my focus ever since I was born. The rest was automated, just like how I was stretching with the tiny Rise in this PE css.

  Our elbows were entangled at each other as our backs id ft on one another. One of us would consecutively stretch our bent spine inward and outward. Out of all the exercises we did, this st one was just listed as one of my most hated ever… since I did it with a girl. But that wasn’t the reason our bodies quivered.

  Lethargy? No. I wandered my gaze and asked, pulling her back as I bow. “Those leers… are you alright with it?”

  “… Y–You’re not looking down on me, aren’t you?”

  “Nice counter, girl, only with a little stutter. However, I’m the one underneath you now.”

  “Don’t mind them.”

  “I didn’t. I would never be.” After all, noticing insults would only strain my brain. I would best invest it on something I would benefit.

  I heard a soft sigh before she pulled my back and continued, “G–Good… You’re a strong man, Sugiyama-kun.”

  “Physically? I’m not sharing this with anyone, but I was an athlete before.”

  I felt her body slightly swaying as she shook her head. “I mean y–you’re capable of ignoring others. I couldn’t ever do it. Those words… they all weave heavy meanings on me.”

  I turned into silence, not knowing what I should say at this awkward moment. Should I encourage her? Ignore her? Do I have a lesson I could share with her? In fact, there was nothing. I solely rete to her. We both experience the same cruel environment, torturing us socially. The only difference was how we reacted.

  “It’s alright, Sugiyama-kun. This was the first time I said this with an acquaintance. I’m sorry if the air became weird.”

  Pulling her back, I replied, “Acquaintance? From what I see, no person would be saying their feelings, too personal and too painful, to some random stranger. The moment you told me this, I already considered you as a friend. I’m not being offensive, aren’t I?”

  Since our bodies were connected through our backs, the vibrations of her racing heartbeat traversed towards my spine. “… I-I never had a friend from this school, and I don’t know how to act like I had one… Why do you consider me as one, knowing my face looked like this?”

  “Does appearance matter? It wasn’t for me. I think we both share the same experiences of isotion, staring at each popution of common people while sitting still in solitude. We’re feeling the same pain socially; wasn’t that a mutual understanding between us? Being friends… I want you to feel how good it is when you have someone you can depend on.”

  After a second of complete silence, she pulled so much that I leaned back for almost ninety-degrees. Though I gasped in complete shock after my bones cracked, she held her position without the intention of breaking off.

  “Hey, Amamiya-san! You’re pulling too much!” Though I compined many times through pain, she became rooted to the ground, completely unresponsive, hiding her face from everyone including me. This sted for not too long until Mr. Kimura called the exercises off.

  As I shove my gaze up, the not-so-good-looking grey clouds from the west almost ate half of the morning sky. We all sat on the audience benches near the four badminton courts in the field. Mr. Kimura stood before us, preparing eight rackets, shuttlecocks, and other necessary equipment.

  “Everyone, all ears on me! For our ongoing exercises, we will be focusing on badminton. Hence, this is the reason I asked your adviser to pair you in two. We will be pying in doubles format, unlike the singles st week. I bet you already know how to handle strokes and the basic positioning.”

  ““YES SIR!”” Everyone affirmed.

  “Let us start with the first pair of our duelists, Sawada’s pair vs. Ose’s pair, Takagi’s pair vs. Takayama’s pair, Kuroda’s vs. Mikami’s, Hase’s vs. Sugiyama’s…”

  WHAT!? I don’t even have any experience with badminton! I bet Rise wasn’t the athletic type. However, it might be a torture as the other students witness our torture from these two stars, Izumi and Naoko. Izumi did excel in every PE css as long as grades were involved. Naoko was the varsity pyer of the current badminton team in our batch. This matchup was rigged!

  We prepared ourselves to our designated courts like yin and yang: one side emitted light, while the other drowned in gloom. We could already hear the shouts from the audience, but they’re targeted at our opponents. Naoko, the tomboyish varsity with an amber-brown ponytail hair, readied her stance, gripping her racket like a thousand-year samurai. Her swag, much cooler than I am, gave birth to the femininity of the girls.

  Izumi maintained her approachable aura for her cheers, but the moment she faced her opponents, her furrowed eyebrows felt like it was burning. Meanwhile, Rise and I hung our mouths open unconsciously, our posture still stooped, anticipating the start of the session and the bullying afterwards.

  The whistle blew. Naoko threw the shuttlecock up, but her swift serve threw me off bance. It only happened within a second. My eyes bulging, I gasped and fell down sideward after the shuttlecock flew an inch away from my right ear, like a rocket followed by a trail of deafening whisper.

  “Sugiyama-kun!” Rise squealed, approaching me and extending her hand to help me stand up. Her frown shouted worry to me, and she was the only one thinking that way. I wandered around the spectators, and most of them covered their mouth and averted their gazes as they giggled.

  “I’m alright. Thanks for the hand.”

  “Are you sure you want to continue? This exercise may strain your foot. We should call this off.”

  I didn’t know if she was concerned about both my condition and how the watchers treated us. Still, I wanted to test if I could face off a varsity. Smirking, I replied, “Thanks for the concern, but this is the challenge. Pain doesn’t do much to me. Let’s try our best and enjoy this, Amamiya-san!”

  Though she never showed her teeth to anyone, a simple upturned curve of her lips told me how grateful she was. I never knew she was this kind before. This was the first time I interacted with her, but now… I’m curious why her cssmates don’t interact with her. I wouldn’t know the answer since we both have the same question troubling our minds.

  Fast forward, I did manage to maneuver around the half of our court without straining my leg. But still, we were facing two legends. Instead of throwing back the shuttlecock, we were focused on avoiding Naoko’s gunshot-like serve. Even if Izumi told her to treat the practice lightly, we couldn’t deescate her varsity pride.

  With the score of 20-0, darkness overtook the skies. Raindrops tapped our heads, forcing Mr. Kimura to half the css. As the rain poured heavier spits, all of us rushed towards the nearest building to take cover. We did our headcounts before the css changed our uniform. However, one student was missing… Rise.

  No one knew her personally, hence one would care about her, nor dare try to find her except me. With her angelic kindness, she shouldn’t be treated this way. I could only bite my lip and clench my fists out of hate. Guilty of my own accord, I would’ve ignored her the same way as them if I didn’t know her. But now, that has changed.

  Ignoring Mr. Kimura’s commands, I rushed out the building and tanked the rain. Covering my forehead with my palm to avoid water in my eyes, I returned back and surveyed the field. She wasn’t there. Where was she? She would get sick if she remained outside.

  I didn’t give up by roaming at the edge of the field, locating her tracks. Becoming the detective of my own story, my breathing became heavy. Soon, I heard a rushing faucet water inside the nearby girl’s restroom I passed through. Since the door was accompanied by a roof, I took cover and waited outside.

  My nose started itching, accompanied by consecutive loud coughing. The faucet water turned off, but there was no person going out of the restroom. Five minutes passed based on my watch, Rise came out, not aware I was waiting for her. Her short sky blue hair hid her face from me as she walked forward.

  Her eyes stared at the moody atmosphere with focus, her hand resting over her chest. Her heavy sighs gave tempo to the loud raindrops hitting the ground. Like me, her clothes were so soaked that even I could see bumps of her undergarments beneath it. This might be the only time I saw her posture not stooped.

  “Rise,” I called, but she responded with a quick turn partnered by a gasp, her arm covering her chest. Her eyes bulged when I witnessed her bright clear-skinned face, no pimples nor freckles. I blinked fast, confirming if I called the right person. With another hastened pivoting of her head away from my view, her other hand hid her face from me.

  Rise Amamiya… I never expected she would be this cute! Her jawlines and flushed cheeks didn’t change shape, hence I confirmed it was her. I would like to ask her why she masked her face with makeup, but a brink of familiarity told me an unsure cause as I utter a name unconsciously.

  “... Hina Satou?”

  A quick turn of events as her mood shifted. She removed her hand from her face as she gred at me, her nostrils fring, eyebrows furrowed, and teeth baring. Her calm breathing soon turned into noise, like a rain calling its thunder. With her cracking voice, she shouted,

  “I AM RISE!”

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